Zurich, the night before England's failed attempt to bring the World Cup back home. A footballer, a prince and a Prime Minister are stuck in a hotel room together to plan their strategy and it comes as no surprise that no one has a clue what they’re doing.
From the pen of actor/writer William Gaminara this traditional comedy has all the elements of a Ray Cooney or Brian Rix farce. There are lost trousers, missed planes, double bookings and mistaken identity thrown in to drive the plot along and a 'blink and you'll miss it' appearance from a certain London Mayor. These three iconic members of the English establishment, David Beckham, Prince William and David Cameron are ripe for ridicule and Gaminara exploits every opportunity to do so.
Gaminara's portrayals of Beckham and Prince William are considerably more affectionate than that of Cameron. Beckham is fashion obsessed, a bit thick and all round a highly likeable bloke and Prince William is an affable posh buffoon desperate to be one of the lads. Less affectionate is his take on the PM as a temperamental, demanding, highly strung control freak who desperately tries to assert his authority. Gaminara has included enough elements of truth to give the satire bite: there are mentions of the Panorama documentary on FIFA corruption broadcast just before the crucial vote and the generous 'gifts' to delegates.
Sean Browne's physical resemblance to Beckham is astonishing and he has his nasal drone nailed. He also manages to capture Becks' smiling eyes and genial personality well. Tom Davey's Prince William is an amiable practical-joking Hooray Henry and as Cameron, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart delivers a high octane performance of a man quickly losing his grip. His mimicking of Cameron's speech patterns, annoying habit of running his hand through his hair and those emphatic hand gestures all raise laughs of recognition.
This is an enjoyable enough way to spend an afternoon and there's no need to be a football fan to appreciate it, but the repeated jokes wear a bit thin and there are not enough laughs to sustain the (appropriate given the subject matter) 90 minute running time. The final scene contains more laughs than all the others put together. With a bit of trimming and a few more gags it could have life.
What it does do is answers the question, what do you get when you put a footballer, a prince and a Prime Minister in a room together? A balls up. It also provides the Scots in the audience a delightful reminder of an England loss.
