3:15pm Thursday 27th September 2007
By Nancy Groves
Richard Wilson is eating cherries. I don't know why I mention it, except that cherries seem a rather whimsical snack for an actor best known for his role as an old curmudgeon.
Then again, that's not the only thing that marks Wilson out from his alter ego, Victor Meldrew. One Foot in the Grave creator David Renwick once commented that Victor was an ironic name for someone who invariably ends up a loser - whereas Wilson's career has been one success story after another.
His latest triumph is a leading turn in Whipping It Up, a stinging political satire by Steve Thompson that claims to blow the lid off the despatch box and reveal the true secrets locked in the whips' safe.
The show opened to great acclaim at The Bush, transferred to the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall and now arrives in Richmond, with Wilson still on board as Tory chief whip and, yes, chief curmudgeon, too.
"I hadn't heard of Steve's work before," says Wilson through a mouthful of cherry pulp. "But the director Terry Johnson said I have got this play which I think you should look at - there is a part that has your name written on it'.
"It is such a witty piece. Although it's almost farcical at times, most of it is true. One of the reviews called it the new Yes Minister and it has elements of The Thick Of It, too. Like all well-written political satires, it is neither too farcical nor too serious."
As a life-long member of the Labour Party, Wilson has a fair few buddies in Westminster but still admits to having been rather star-struck when the cast were granted a tour around the whips' offices in the name of research.
But why go to parliament when parliament will come to you? "The great thing at the Trafalgar Studios," reveals Wilson, "was that the show was awash with politicians. Jacqui Smith came to see it before she was made home secretary, while Neil Kinnock came and was really complimentary. They said Thompson had got it spot on."
Aside from a posh panto' stint in Cinderella at New Wimbledon Theatre in 2005, this is Wilson's first stage role in a while, having spent much of the past two years directing instead. Next year will see the release of his first feature film, a screen adaptation of Primo, Anthony Sher's one-man play which Wilson directed for the stage last year.
"We have just completed the editing," he says, "and it was taxing, very taxing. Film is a whole different ball game. How do you get one man in the frame and hold the suspense? That's the challenge."
It's surprising to hear that Wilson, at the grand age of 71 with an OBE and several Baftas to his name, finds anything much of a challenge. But, says the Scot, "Whipping it Up was in the West End for four months, eight shows a week, and there was never a night when I felt like I could relax - the adrenalin was always pumping."
Whipping It Up, Richmond Theatre, The Green, Richmond, Monday, October 1 to Saturday, October 6, 7.45pm, Sat mat 2.30pm, £28-£16, call 0870 060 6651, visit richmondtheatre.net.
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