THE CONFESSIONS OF GORDON BROWN Ambassadors Theatre, London and then Edinburgh Festival

Gordon Brown always felt Tony Blair had usurped his throne: “Every hour of him was an hour less of me.” Kevin Toolis’s 80-minute monologue tells the tale of the most successful Chancellor of the Exchequer in British history who longed to be Prime Minister and when he finally did achieve the highest office in the land, it all went horribly wrong. It could be a subject for tragedy? Brown certainly had the hubris and he has been given a memorable tragic line, “Despair is best shared alone.” However, if you are hoping the satire will have the viciousness of a cartoon by Gerald Scarfe or the acerbity of Have I Got News For You and Private Eye, then you may be disappointed. It’s not that kind of a performance. The script and Ian Grieve’s portrayal of the man are essentially sympathetic. The performance is recommended to universities, party members, political activists and anybody interested in the nature of power and the politics of leadership.