This fine drama was based on the 1992 UK general election, where the then Prime Minister pulled off a surprise victory to defeat Neil Kinnock, then leader of the Labour party. In some ways Labour's loss was something I guess John Major would rue because in the 1997 general election, the Conservatives were demolished, with Tony Blair triumphant over Major.
In fact the playwright, David Hare, was given privileged access to the Kinnock campaign team in 1992, and this drama (based on the stage version) is based on this in some ways. George Jones (the Labour leader in this drama) is based on Kinnock, and is impressively played by John "The Sweeney" Thaw. John is incredible in the role of George and it's like he owns it. John first played the role of George in the stage version in I think 1993, when he was 51 years old. Ironically, The Absence of War was revised for the stage in 2015 with Reece Dinsdale playing George. Reece played George at the age of 55, and also Reece and John starred together in the sitcom Home to Roost which ran from 1985 to 1990.
The ending made me want to just bemoan the fact that so many voters were gullible in accepting the economic promises of the Conservative Prime Minister.
In fact the playwright, David Hare, was given privileged access to the Kinnock campaign team in 1992, and this drama (based on the stage version) is based on this in some ways. George Jones (the Labour leader in this drama) is based on Kinnock, and is impressively played by John "The Sweeney" Thaw. John is incredible in the role of George and it's like he owns it. John first played the role of George in the stage version in I think 1993, when he was 51 years old. Ironically, The Absence of War was revised for the stage in 2015 with Reece Dinsdale playing George. Reece played George at the age of 55, and also Reece and John starred together in the sitcom Home to Roost which ran from 1985 to 1990.
The ending made me want to just bemoan the fact that so many voters were gullible in accepting the economic promises of the Conservative Prime Minister.
