Want to catch up on the tortured journey to Brexit? Then see the Blowfish Theatre revue Boris the Musical 2: Brexit Harder, which takes you briskly through two elections, two Prime Ministers, a referendum and the sinister activities of Michael Gove, creeping round Boris Johnson.
The musical satire targets the politicians Blowfish regards as responsible for Brexit, giving a special place to Boris de Pfeffel Johnson who is shown from his days with the all-male Bullingdon Club at Oxford University, getting drunk and smashing things up, as he sang with other members the song “Posh Lads”, which includes such lines as “Gotta burn fifty quid in front of a homeless”.
And in case anyone should imagine they let official Remainers off the hook, they have David Cameron reading a very scary story to a small child, warning against leaving the EU and then going off to “wank in the shed”.
Theresa May (Kyle Williams) is depicted as a cartoon figure, a remote headteacher who grows increasingly twitchy throughout the show.
Meanwhile, cult leader Jeremy Corbyn (Lawrence Peacock) and his black-clad hoodies sing the best song, the grime piece “Free Stuff” that promises “shit for free… I’m a socialist Santa, sack full of swag… who said Brexit? I head for the exit.”
Of course the star of the show is Boris (James Ringer-Beck), unprincipled, opportunist and a liar who even looks surprised and disappointed by the referendum result. As a journalist, “you cant beat the Bozzer at Euromyth.” But following a recording of him discussing a plan to beat up a journalist, he decides to move on to politics.
Like Cameron, he treats the electorate like children, even introducing some (played by adults) who talk about a “general erection” and “Ed Willieband”.
This is a fast, cynical show that confines itself to satiric swipes at politicians rather than the voters, but offers no insight into the complicated reasons people voted the way they did, or the nature of the current political paralysis.
Although it kept its audience laughing, it seems unlikely to appeal to Brexit supporters, Tories or those on the political left who support Jeremy Corbyn.