Review

Ilkley Playhouse

Whipping It Up is the latest offering from the talented band at Ilkley Playhouse.

The scene is a Parliamentary whips’ office at the time of a crucial vote for a minority government.

With the Prime Minister out of the country, the Chief, Deputy and Junior whips deploy any and every tactic to cajole, schmooze or bully errant MPs to follow the party line.

As the curtains were drawn on the opening night to a near full house, the carefully thought-out set was revealed. The effort that goes into the sets at every production at the Playhouse is worth acknowledgement. We learn during the play that in a mere sixth months the Tory whips had managed to turn the office into an old boys’ club.

I could well imagine the real whips’ office looks very much like this – the book on Betty Boothroyd placed on a shelf was a particularly exquisite touch. The ex-Speaker probably remains a pin-up for many an MP.

Each member of the cast is completely convincing. There are only six and each deserves a mention.

Walter Swan plays the ‘gentleman whip’ in a charming, understated performance. As the Deputy Whip, his character holds the most power within the narrative, an experienced iron hand in a velvet glove.

The play opens with him deploying his persuasive talents to bring a new MP, played by Robson Stroud, back into the fold. Stroud has clearly modelled his image on a Cameron/Portillo hybrid and could get elected as an MP on his looks alone.

Nikki Mason plays Maggie, the undercover reporter, who knows how to deploy her youthful talents to derail the junior whip, played by Andy Price, from his usual astute scheming.

The fact that Price played Edgar Linton, and Mason played the young Cathy in Wuthering Heights, which I saw in the summer, and each is completely unrecognisable as the same person is a testament to their acting ability. John Wise plays the Chief Whip with a credible potency, guile and wit, which one imagines is an essential job description for the position.

My favourite performance was by Nicola Kryzynowski-Smith, who plays Delia from the opposition whip’s office. As a woman in a man’s world she portrays the character of the calculating and conniving counterpart to the underhand boys’ club with a passion and power that is utterly credible.

The narrative of the play takes us through the trickery, scheming and devious power plays that are only too easy to imagine exist in the real whips’ office. The real clout and muscle in politics probably does lie in these small rooms rather than in the Cabinet or on the floor of the Commons.

If it doesn’t, Ilkley Players have done a good job in making me think otherwise, which in itself is a testament to their ability to put on a convincing performance.

Patrick McGuckin