The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson
It was the dinner that changed history: the night in February 2016 when Boris Johnson decided to vote ‘leave’ and a nation’s future was sealed. Guests included the spirits of Prime Ministers past, including Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill and Tony Blair as well as fellow MP Michael Gove, the journalist Sarah Vine, Marina Wheeler and Evgeny Lebedev.
Fast forward to post-Brexit Britain. Johnson, no longer in power, roams the political wilderness. Unexpected events see him back in the spotlight and with a chance to “make Britain great again”. This hilarious play addresses the big questions. What will Britain look like in decades to come? What do we want from our leaders? Are all political careers destined to end in failure? And is chlorinated chicken really bad for you?
Jonathan Maitland was a broadcaster and journalist for 30 years before becoming a playwright. He reported for Radio 4’s Today programme and BBC TV news in the 90s before going on to present and produce factual and documentary TV shows for the BBC and ITV. He has written four plays including 2015’s Dead Sheep, which broke the box office record at London’s Park Theatre and subsequently toured nationally. The follow up An Audience with Jimmy Savile broke the records set by his debut and was called ‘the most talked about play of 2015’. The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson completed a sold out run at Park Theatre in 2018 and toured the UK. His radio play The Rem Co aired on Radio 4 in 2018. He lives in west London.