Labour of Love
About the work
9th June 2017, the early hours of the morning in a Labour Party office in North Nottinghamshire. David Lyons, local MP for the past 27 years, waits anxiously with his constituency agent, Jean Whittaker, for the results of the snap General Election, the first reports suggesting a hung parliament. Having been re-elected six times since 1990, David faces the possibility of finally being voted out while his party, despite some gains, looks likely to be denied victory for the third time in a row.
Why is Labour losing seats in its traditional northern heartland while winning ‘safe’ Conservative ones elsewhere? What’s shifted within the party and country as a whole? David and Jean have witnessed many changes within the Labour movement over the past three decades: the election of Tony Blair as leader in 1994 and the birth of ‘New Labour’; the party’s landslide victory in the 1997 General Election; reduced majorities in the 2001 and 2005 elections; Tony Blair stepping down in 2007; successive leaders, Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband and now Jeremy Corbyn…
Through it all they’ve worked together side-by-side – David advocating the need for a new approach, Jean championing the old values. Despite their many differences, a grudging respect has grown between them, and with it affection. All this is pulled into sharp focus by the return of David’s ex-wife, Elizabeth, who suggests they give their marriage another try… Having guided the MP through six successive victories, is his fiery constituency agent prepared to see him lose now on the home front?
James Graham
James Graham’s plays include: Ink (Almeida/West End), This House (NT/West End – Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award Best Play nominations), Monster Raving Loony (Theatre Royal Plymouth/Soho Theatre), The Vote – broadcast live on television on the night of the general election 2015 (Donmar Warehouse), Privacy (Donmar Warehouse/Public Theater, New York), The Angry Brigade (Theatre Royal Plymouth/Bush Theatre), Tory Boyz (National Youth Theatre) and the book for the Finding Neverland musical on Broadway. As Writer in Residence at the Finborough Theatre his plays include Eden’s Empire (winner of the Catherine Johnson Best Play Award), The Man and Sons of York.
Writing for television includes: Coalition (Channel 4 winner of the RTS Best Single Drama in 2016), Prisoners’ Wives and Caught in a Trap.
Writing for film includes: X Plus Y, selected for the Toronto International and London Film Festival in 2014, before being released in cinemas worldwide in spring 2015. He is currently working on Gypsy Boy for BBC Films, and a film Adaptation of 1984.
David Lyons (Martin Freeman)
A Labour MP
A ‘few years younger’ than Jean, David was also born and brought up locally before winning a scholarship to Oxford University. Part of a new generation of Labour MPs, he’s keen to modernize the party, rebranding it in the hope of making it more electable after years in opposition. Jean’s concerned he’s more interested in image than content, but she recognises his passion and pragmatism.
Jean Whittaker (Tamsin Greig)
A constituency agent
Born and bred in North Nottinghamshire, Jean’s been a card-carrying member of the Labour Party since the age of 14. Described by David as ‘hard as nails’, she’s spent a lifetime fighting for the rights of the working-class left in her community. Her husband, a former miner, was the local Labour MP before ill health forced him to retire and David replaced him.
Elizabeth Lyons (Rachael Stirling)
David’s wife, a lawyer
Not a local, Elizabeth reluctantly followed her husband to his new constituency, although she thinks they should have waited for a seat closer to Westminster, Number 10 and, ultimately, a place in the cabinet – she has ambitions for her husband’s career to match her own and they don’t start in North Nottinghamshire.
Mr. Shen (Kwong Loke)
A businessman investor
From China, Mr. Shen’s in the final stages of choosing a European city in which to build his new train plant, thereby boosting employment and the economy. David argues that his constituency is the ideal place: a prime location with excellent transport links and, most importantly, a willing workforce. Securing this multi-million pound deal would also secure the area’s future.
Len Prior (Dickon Tyrrell)
A local councillor and party worker
‘London born, nominally middle-class, with a slightly affected working-class tone’, Len is Secretary of the local Labour Party, eventually becoming Leader of the Council. A Fabian scholar, he’s always had his doubts about David’s loyalties to the grassroot party members, his frustrations barely concealing his own political ambitions.
Margot Midler (Susan Wokoma)
A constituent and party worker
Another local, Margot started her working life as a travel agent, campaigning for the local Labour Party in her spare time, before securing a position on the council and eventually becoming Deputy Leader.
(click for a larger version)
