The Last Days of Liz Truss
The White Bear Theatre
18th to 29th March 2025
Prime Minister Liz Truss is navigating her last morning at Number 10. But can a fighter ever quit?
The Last Days of Liz Truss? garnered five-star reviews and an “outstanding” from The Guardian’s Mark Lawson during its sold out premiere in December. Now this highly topical play by BBC Writers Room Award-nominated writer Greg Wilkinson, performed by Emma Wilkinson Wright as Liz and featuring Spitting Image’s Steve Nallon as the voice of Margaret Thatcher (and others), is coming back to the White Bear for a strictly limited run, 18-29 March.
A tragic-comic exploration of the tensions in politics between ambition and ability, vision and reality, going short and playing it long, the play also takes a much broader look at broken systems and the tensions and contradictions at the heart of British and global politics.
Review by Richard Lambert, 3 Stars
Such a funny play! Based on fact but not just full of exposition, this play presents history from the perspective of the woman herself – a Northern lass with politics, philosophy and economics (“PPE” – ha ha) tucked into her skirt. Her mantra of “it might be painful now but look at the future benefits to the UK economy” would likely have made her a candidate to be a dentist who frowns upon those who like their procedures with a little bit of anaesthetic.
Emma Wilkinson Wright, as Liz Truss, is absolutely superb! Such an incredible performer. Her mannerisms exaggerating Liz Truss and very believable. In such a small space with the audience so close there isn’t an inch to hide or a micro-second’s chance of popping out of character. Of course the direction is superb and the writing excellent – never falling back on too much exposition.
The first half of the play leading up to the interval was brilliant, however, the last 10 minutes of the second half were not quite so engaging. It isn’t clear if it was trying to update the commentary to show a way for Liz to have a come-back with Farage in the Reform party but struggled when it broke away from fact and delved into future possibilities.
The lighting and sound were both quite snappy, not much subtlety in the technical department. Perhaps this was to punctuate the brazen character of northern Liz Truss by it’s distractions.
I’m not a “Lettuce” fan but still had a thoroughly brilliant evening!
Photo credit: Tristram Kenton
Oxia Theatre presents
The Last Days of Liz Truss?
by Greg Wilkinson
directed by Anthony Shrubsall
White Bear Theatre
138 Kennington Park Road
LONDON
SE11 4DJ
18 – 29 March at 7.30pm
matinee Saturday 29 March at 3pm
Running time:
90mins (Plus interval)
Tickets: £17 (£12 concessions)