FOUR STARS
IN a bid to kill two
birds with one stone, so to speak, the late dictator Saddam Hussein
used to drop in unannounced at the homes of people living in Baghdad
for dinner.
It was a way of not
only visiting his people but it was also a way of evading the
Americans and their attempts to assassinate him.
And it is this idea
that has formed the basis of a blisteringly funny play, Dinner With
Saddam now on at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
Written by Anthony
Horrowitz it stars Steven Berkoff as Saddam with Sanjeev Baskhar and
Shobu Kapoor as his host and hostess.
Saddam pitches up at
the most inconvenient time for them. The toilet is blocked, the
plumber can't find the problem quick enough to deal with it, the host
is having problems controlling his articulate and intelligent
daughter, not to mention the man to whom she has been betrothed from
birth.
So to have their dear
leader in their midst is all a bit much.
The comedy is ramped to
the max with dead bodies, rat poison and a bag of turds in the fridge
- yes really.
And while it is a fine
line to tread between sending up the situation and revealing the
true horrors of both the war and the help Saddam got from the
Americans and us Brits in his war with Iran, it manages just about to
do so.
It is at times
hilarious and at times shocking in the facts it imparts. The cast is
just terrific especially Sanjeev Baskhar whose comedic timing is spot
on.
Dinner With Saddam is
on at the Menier Chocolate Factory until November 14. Tickets from
£35. Visit www.menierchocolatefactory.com or call the box office on
020 7378 1713.
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