London Theatre News & Reviews

The Reviews are in for Churchill's Urinal

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Known for her alter-ego MP, who has achieved more than seven million views with her online videos, satirist and Chortle award-winning comedian Rosie Holt shares the world premiere of her new play, at The King's Head Theatre, London.

Churchill's Urinal follows a new fearless female Chancellor of the Exchequer who is determined to get rid of the ancient urinal in her grace-and-favour en-suite at no.11 Downing Street. Not a problem, you would think, until it transpires that the porcelain was first tinkled on by Winston Churchill, and the nation suddenly goes into uproar.

The reviews are in:

"With astutely observed writing, Rosie Holt’s unpolished satire sends up the piss-poor state of British politics." ★★★ (The Stage).

"In the age of 24-hour news and political car crash after political car crash, stories that once would have dogged politicians lack the staying power they once did. Like, who even remembers when Rachel Reeves, newly appointed as the UK’s first female chancellor, insisted that she was going to get rid of the urinal in No 11 as a defiant act of girl power, only to find out that she couldn’t as the latrine had been used by Winston Churchill and therefore was of historical significance? Rosie Holt, that’s who." (Time Out).

"If you’ve given Rosie Holt any of the millions of hits she has had online — primarily for her MP character “Rosie Holt” — you’ll know how much she can get said in a couple of minutes. If you’ve seen her live shows, of which this satirical play is the third and most messy, you’ll know how thin her act can feel stretched out over an hour." ★★ (The Times).

"Holt’s script, with additional material by Stewart Lee, makes salient points about how violent online abuse is now an occupational hazard for female politicians. The show is also fleetingly incisive on the matter of pro-Churchill myth-making, with a Darkest Hour gag the standout. These are anomalies, though, in a shambolic evening which too often relies on name-checks (Michael Fabricant! Isabel Oakeshott! John Nettles!) in lieu of insights or laughs." ★★ (The Guardian).

"By the end, Churchill’s Urinal gestures towards a plea for national unity and a rejection of division. But the production never develops enough satirical clarity to make that conclusion land with force. What remains is largely a monologue-driven barrage of contemporary references that barely surpass the premise of a sketch. The modern references are intermittently provocative, but rarely insightful or genuinely funny. " ★★ (Everything Theatre).

Overall: ★★

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