Music: Horace Smith
Book: Virgil Solomon
Lyrics and Directors: Virgil Solomon and Horace Smith.
Lord Clegg Awakes is like nothing else you’ll see at the Camden Fringe. Who’d imagine that a musical based on the rise and fall of Nick Clegg could be so entertainingly zany and have so many good songs?
Plus, it’s a classic battle of Good versus Evil, with the fabulous character of George Osborne (Miles Blanch), Chancellor of Shadows, locked in mortal combat with the ever-naïve Nick Clegg (Horace Smith aka Jack Pedder). David Cameron (Pepper Jensen) is another great creation. ‘Why is David Cameron American?’ asks one of the FAQs in the programme. Answer: ‘Because he was born in Kentucky, and lived there ever after,’ we’re told. Whatever. But it’s fun to ditch the familiar Cameron of endless political satire and see instead a dodgy American wheeler-dealer who lures Clegg into the famous coalition of 2010 and who will later sing a slushy break-up duet with him.
It’s a great ensemble piece, with a strong cast of 14, plus talented pianist Oli Hawley. From the tightness of the set pieces and the tremendous singing, you’d assume the group have been acting together since university. All the more amazing when a bit of googling reveals that they only came together earlier this summer following a casting call from the production team: Horace Smith and Virgil Solomon, pseudonyms of Jack Pedder and Milo Garner. A bit more googling uncovers some of recordings of the insanely funny songs on YouTube, including I am a Radical Centrist, Clegg Mania and the glorious Hungry Hungry Osborne.
The show begins with Lord Clegg asleep in his palace. Awoken by a whole team of servants, he promptly falls asleep again, and the rest of the drama is his nightmare. He starts by winning over the hearts of the benighted folk of Sheffield Hallam, who are first suspicious of and then worship him as their new MP – cue Clegg Mania. He holds up a vision of a whole new direction for British politics, including, famously, the abolition of university tuition fees.
There’s an entertaining scene when he first enters parliament, with a wonderful turn by Katie Penfold as the Speaker of the House. He will later be bullied entertainingly by Osborne and Cameron, but the presentation of Gordon Brown veers uncomfortably towards ableism. Making Keir Starmer a child doesn’t quite hit the spot either. But on the other hand, there’s the neat idea of having Gladstone appear from time to time as a ghost. Needless to say, Clegg will be forced to betray his ideals.
The music is great – highly derivative, of course, but that’s really the point. Other musical highlights include The Tory Party Knows How to Party and a solemn coalition song led by Dame Vera Lynn (a powerful performance by Paige Hann), encouraging us to tighten our belts. The comic lyrics throughout are really inventive, though occasionally are hard to hear. Pedder himself would be better mic’d throughout so that we don’t lose a word.
Lord Clegg Awakes is all enormous fun and deserves to be seen by a wider audience.
Runs until 13 August 2025
Camden Fringe runs until 24 August 2025
