| Rumsfeld are thinly disguised as Colin Dick and Donald Duck, and the British prime minister is Tony Blear Numerous American producers have come to check out "Madness
Since then, the play has been picked up by a commercial management, PW Productions, whose successes include the London thriller, "The Woman in Black," now in its 15th year
Michael Billington, theater critic for the left-leaning British newspaper The Guardian, has been among the play's fiercest champions "
As Dubya, Thomas Arnold butchers one reference after another: the Cuban naval base Guatanamo Bay becomes "Guacamole Bay"; Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams becomes "Gerry Saddams"; weapons of mass destruction are called weapons of mass "distraction "What Butcher captures well is the insanity of a situation where, by making a military strike against terror, we actually increase its likelihood," Billington wrote back in January when the play first bowed at the Theatro Technis in Camden Town, north London
The play's subtitle is "Strangelove Revisited," in homage to the corrosive Stanley Kubrick film
Arnold, 25, who has never been to the United States, appears in silver paint and black makeup around the eyes to try to get what he referred to as the president's "squashed look "
"For that theater and for now, that's fine," said producer Peter Wilson However, he added, "The chance to be able to shout something against what was going on was too much to ignore "
"I don't know what good it does to a career to play George Bush," said Arnold
Justin Butcher's satire, "The Madness of George Dubya," is scheduled to run at least through May 17 at central London's Arts Theatre
In the play, Bush is portrayed as an overgrown baby who appears in pajamas, clutching his teddy bear and preparing a war on "Iraqistania "
At the April 7 opening night at the Arts Theatre, the advance sale stood at a paltry $800
"Madness" comes interlaced with songs by veteran satirist Tom Lehrer, who updated lyrics to some of his better-known numbers ("Send the Marines") to suit the material "
"The Madness of George Dubya" takes its name from an Alan Bennett play, and subsequent film, about King George III, who over time went mad This is the third auditorium for the play that opened quietly in January in a small theater in north London and has since been gathering steam Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense Secretary Donald H London Satire Pokes Fun at 'George Dubya'
Apr 22, 2:22 PM EST
A British play that pokes fun at President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair is slowly becoming a popular diversion Since then it has risen to nearly $13,000 â€â€? tiny, perhaps, by New York standards but not bad for a lampoon
Still, much of the play remains at the level of a cartoon, the cheaper jokes giving way to a long second-act rant from the a token Arab character
Nicholas Burns gives the evening's most skillful performance as Blear, not only capturing the prime minister's speech patterns but even the gleam in his eye |