★★★

I always look forward to seeing a play by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman at the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, but on this occasion I was disappointed. Their adaptation of The Autobiography of a Cad, a 1930s satire about a self-centred lying politician with a public school background, may have modern parallels but it didn’t seem like a play for today. Fortunately it did feature an outstanding lead performance. Keep watching and I’ll tell you all about it.

Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye and star of Have I Got News For You, and Nick Newman have almost made a speciality of paying homage to past satirists. Wipers Times told of First World War soldiers who mocked their commanders,  Spike was a tribute to Spike Milligan and The Goons who sent up the establishment, Trial By Laughter concerned the early 19th century government’s attempt to censor satirist William Hone. All of those, like their new offering, were premiered at The Watermill.

The author of The Autobiography of a Cad, A G MacDonell, was a popular satirist in the 1920s and 30s. All satire is vulnerable to the passing of time and its targets, and he is now almost forgotten. In the case of this book, though, you can see the appeal of revisiting it. It dates from a time when Britain was run by a self-serving corrupt elite who inherited their positions irrespective of ability. You would think that by the twentieth century this had long been replaced by a meritocracy. Except when you realise how many members of the last government came from wealthy backgrounds and had gone through Eton and Oxbridge.

More than that, the subject of this particular story is not simply incompetent or old fashioned, in the way of say Colonel Blimp. The Cad, whose name is Edward Fox-Ingleby, is entitled, self-centred, and misogynistic. He lies his way out of trouble and cheats his way to the top. There’s no explicit nod in the play to any modern self-serving mendacious politician, but you may well be reminded of a few.

The irony of the original ‘autobiography’ speaks for itself but, for dramatic purposes, this play puts the Cad in the process of writing it. This task inevitably involves rewriting history, which two assistants question and challenge with a mixture of bemusement and contempt.

Fox relives moments from his life in which he encounters various friends, colleagues and lovers, and proceeds to stab them in the back. He moves through his boorish misbehaviour as a student, to his mistreatment of the staff on his estate, to avoiding front line fighting in the First World War, to pursuing a political career, all the while carrying on affairs.

Two actors take on all the other characters. Rhiannon Neads flits from the shocked assistant Miss Appleby to the snarling ghost of Granny Ingleby to sundry girlfriends and wives, while Mitesh Soni is the sneering assistant Mr Collins, the downtrodden farm worker Williams and many powerful but naive men.

Designer Ceci Calf‘s set uses wood panelling and oil-painted portraits to suggest appropriately a Gentlemen’s Club, while cleverly concealing the various props that will be needed.

Each scene is funny in itself but the pattern is always the same: a threat to the Cad, followed by his escape using lies or bribes, then on to the next until it feels relentless. It needs an edit: if nothing else, some of what is in effect a series of sketches could be cut to avoid the diminishing returns.

Having said that, the Cad’s character and behaviour are at times hilarious, and director Paul Hart keeps the pace moving for over two hours.

Paul was given a review ticket by the theatre