The Gang of Three review – inside an old boys’ club of Labour intrigue

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Denis Healey, Roy Jenkins and Anthony Crosland were each calved betwixt 1917 and 1920, past educated astatine Oxford earlier serving successful Labour governments. This homogenous pack of three, arsenic this play’s rubric identifies them, neglect to assertion the highest governmental prizes due to the fact that they judge the inevitable victor is 1 of them.

Written by governmental faction specialists Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky – whose earlier works Coalition, Kingmaker and Brexit examined aspects of the Cameron and Johnson years – the play shows the self-chosen large 3 of the Labour centre-right debating which of them should go lawman enactment person successful 1972 and 1976, premier curate successful 1976 and person of the absorption successful 1980.

As with events successful Rome, there’s a consciousness of Labour conclaves, with the added occupation that not each of the contenders were successful the room; successful each case, a pope of socialism was crowned elsewhere (Ted Short, Michael Foot, James Callaghan, Foot again). Still much daringly, different party, crossed Westminster, chose a pistillate leader.

The Tories having picked 3 much women (quality aside), portion each Labour’s non-interim leaders person been male, is 1 of the play’s galore subtle subtexts, alongside divisions betwixt the trio including European rank and spending cuts.

Morgan, Tierney and Cox successful The Gang of Three.

Just arsenic the play seems to beryllium pursuing accepted bio-drama chronology, there’s a flashback to Oxford successful 1940 successful an intriguing country dramatising a much intimate narration betwixt Crosland and Jenkins that, successful John Campbell’s biography of Jenkins, is attributed lone to “private information”. Finally, the play becomes an unofficial prequel to Steve Waters’ Limehouse, successful which Jenkins, arsenic portion of the “gang of four” (with David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers), founded the SDP, with the purpose of supplanting Labour – although, similar Jenkins’ erstwhile gambles, that failed, with Healey refusing to go the gang’s 5th member.

Eschewing a bald headdress (as utilized by Roger Allam successful Limehouse), Hywel Morgan captures Jenkins’ delivery, rolling words astir his rima similar the good claret helium carries successful (a bully in-joke astir a governmental hero, this) a Gladstone bag. Colin Tierney arsenic Healey nails the abrupt French quotations and the habit, careless of emotion, of speaking done gritted teeth. With the vantage oregon disadvantage of being the lone quality not impersonated by peak-time TV impressionists of the era, Alan Cox plays Crosland arsenic a charmingly louche governmental chameleon – though, arsenic the play shows, that wasn’t enough.