In a weird way, this Fringe (and this year) has seemed to be a bit of a moment of reflection. With a change of government last month, the wide variety of shows covering the last 14 years of Conservative rule seem all the more poignant. None so far that I have personally seen seem more on brand than the Comings and Goings of No10. Yet in many ways like the past government, this show has a lot of ambition, yet fails to deliver.
ambitious, yet fails to deliver
Set during the Johnson years, on Dominic Cummings last day as Downing Street Chief of Staff, he very suddenly gets locked into a state-room, unable to leave as government ministers come and go and get themselves into embarrassing situations. With many figures at the top of government being depicted the impressions feel weak and unclear, with it taking me until the halfway mark of the show to realise that Matt Hancock and lover Gina Coladangelo were on stage, despite being present for a decent chunk of the runtime. Combined with a narrative that feels confused and reliant on “remember when x minister did this thing” the show seems more interested in being a clip show of the last government's worst moments, rather than having any point to it.
The idea of Cummings’ last day in office is a strong pitch, a man who was so controversial and key to the start of Johnson’s premiership is rife for satire as is much of his government, it was a shame to see this not be fully exploited, when there is more than enough material from the last 14 years to play with.
