Lockdowns and laughter

From heavyweight British television writer Armando Iannucci comes a brand new play, Pandemonium, directed by Olivier and Tony winner Patrick Marber. Satiring the absolute chaos of Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party's time in charge of the UK's response to the coronavirus pandemic, the play marks Iannucci's first move into writing theatre. 

There's plenty of ground for the play to cover, with ill-fated secret drinks parties, rule-flaunting smooches in a cupboard, the comically short but bewilderingly eventful reign of Liz Truss and Dominic Cummins' Barnard Castle jaunt for an "eye test". The real thing was almost farcical satire in itself, so audiences will be chomping at the bit to see how Iannucci and Marber bring the chaos together in one hilarious show. 

Iannucci is royalty to British sitcom fans, with the crown jewels in his back-catalogue including Alan Partridge, The Thick of It and The Death of Stalin. His list of awards is almost as extensive as his filmography, such as the quality of his writing, with multiple BAFTAs, Emmys, Writers Guild of America awards and many more. With Patrick Marber the play is in safe hands, with the multi-faceted director nominated for five Olivier Awards for his work on Tom Stoppard's Travesties revival, as well as a Tony Award for Leopoldstadt and an Olivier win for his own play Closer.