At a Glance
- The final chapter of the much-loved Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister story arrives in Southend.
- Written and directed by original co-creator Jonathan Lynn.
- Stars Clive Francis as Sir Humphrey Appleby and Simon Rouse as Jim Hacker.
- Political satire returns with a modern storyline involving cancel culture and university politics.
- Playing at the Palace Theatre, Southend from 21–25 July.
A new comedy written and directed by Jonathan Lynn
Co-directed by Michael Gyngell
Starring Clive Francis and Simon Rouse
- FOLLOWING ITS ACCLAIMED RUN AT THE BARN, THE FINAL CHAPTER OF YES, MINISTER HEADS TO SOUTHEND WITH AN UPDATED CAST
- CLIVE FRANCIS REPRISES THE ROLE OF SIR HUMPHREY APPLEBY AND SIMON ROUSE WILL STAR AS EX-PRIME MINISTER JIM HACKER
- PRINCESS DONNOUGH ALSO RETURNS IN THE ROLE OF SOPHIE
From the BAFTA Award-winning co-creator of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, Jonathan Lynn, comes the long-awaited final chapter of this political satire — and it is as cutting, and catastrophically funny as ever.
I’m Sorry Prime Minister plays at the Palace Theatre in Southend from 21 to 25 July.
Jim Hacker is back — older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from Government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee.
Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (played by the acclaimed Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases, and well-timed obstruction.
Can Humphrey and Jim out manoeuvre the hostile students, the Fellows, and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say, “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister…”?
Brimming with razor-sharp wit, nostalgic brilliance, and more double-speak than a press briefing, this is political comedy at its most timeless — and timely.
The cast includes Clive Francis who is reprising the role of Sir Humphrey Appleby which he performed at the Barn Theatre, and currently in the West End, alongside Simon Rouse in the role of Ex-Prime Minister Jim Hacker. Princess Donnough also plays the role of Sophie, which she is currently performing in the West End.
Yes, Minister is a British television comedy series written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran for 16 episodes from 1986 to 1988. A hugely successful stage play entitled Yes, Prime Minister was premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre in May 2010. The production transferred to the West End where it played at three different theatres and also toured the UK twice to great acclaim.
Set principally in the private office of a British cabinet minister in the fictional Department of Administrative Affairs in Whitehall, Yes Minister follows the ministerial career of Jim Hacker, played by Paul Eddington. His various struggles to formulate and enact policy or effect departmental changes are opposed by the British Civil Service, in particular his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, played by Nigel Hawthorne.
The series received several BAFTAs and in 2004 was voted sixth in the Britain’s Best Sitcom poll. It was the favourite television programme for fans across the political spectrum, most notably of the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher.