Review of Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening at Norwich’s Theatre Royal: Return of 90s hit series brings witty observations and pointed political satire to stage

Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening - Theatre Royal, Norwich

Breaking news - this classic 90s hit TV series is back with most of the original cast.

The team who gave us Globelink News returns with a stage show of the popular comedy that takes a wry look at the media world around us.

It’s written by the same duo, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, and stars the majority of the same team: Neil Pearson, Susannah Doyle, Robert Duncan, Jeff Rawle, Ingrid Lacey, Stephen Tompkinson, and Victoria Wicks.

This time they are working for Truth News, a new 24-hour telly channel funded by unknown sources.

It’s the same cutthroat world where rules are blurred and constant deadlines mean the truth isn’t always the most important thing about a story - it’s all about viewing figures - and we see the lengths some journalists will go to for the sake of getting the story.

There are some very witty observations about life, a whole bunch of misfits, and some pointed political satire about the world around.

There could be a few more topical jokes, sure we have a little bit about Trump and his trial, but Matt Hancock is really a yesterday person.

The show should appeal to fans of the original series and those who like a laugh-out-loud show with lots of clever if worrying insights into the manipulation of our news.

The show runs until Saturday. Visit www.norwichtheatre.org

Review by Sarah Hardy