Posted by It has been announced that Ben Miller will lead an all-star cast in the West End premiere of The Duck House, a new comedy set in a world of dodgy receipts, dodgier deceit, and pure Parliamentary panic. The production will open at the Vaudeville Theatre on 10th December 2013 (previews from Wednesday 27th November) following a five week UK tour.
The Duck House will also star Olivier Award Winning Actress Nancy Carroll, Debbie Chazen, James Musgrave, Simon Shepherd and Diana Vickers. Tony and Olivier Award winner Terry Johnson directs this hilarious political satire from two writers who’ve been making fun of politicians for decades, Dan Patterson and Colin Swash.
Ben Miller said: “They say that comedy equals tragedy plus time, and traumatic as the expense scandal was hopefully we can all now have a bloody good laugh about it. And if any MPs don’t like it they can always claim for it on expenses.”
May 2009. Gordon Brown’s Government is in meltdown and a General Election is just one year away. Labour backbencher Robert Houston (Ben Miller) loves being an MP and will do anything to save his seat – including change sides. All is going well with his switch from red to blue until, on the eve of his final interview with Sir Norman Cavendish (Simon Shepherd), a Tory grandee, the Expenses Scandal breaks.
As public fury mounts over taxpayers’ millions being frittered away on second homes, hanging baskets, moat-cleaning and duck houses, Robert and his secretarial staff, aka wife Felicity (Nancy Carroll), student son Seb (James Musgrave), Seb’s girlfriend Holly (Diana Vickers) and Russian housekeeper Ludmilla (Debbie Chazen) find themselves in big, big trouble.