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Now, cue a confession. I’ve never seen Drop the Dead Donkey, but my dad has. So, off we went for a little mid-week theatre trip to Curve to see if it’s quote “just as funny now as it was then’, Well, back when, it was apparently all about keeping up with the latest news, with satire as standard.

Fast forward thirty years, and the remaining cast are back with “Drop the Dead Donkey: The Reawakening!” Despite not really understanding all the references, I enjoyed the satire and dry humour that was delivered, though personally I don’t feel I was target audience. I found the storyline relatively dry and slow paced at best.

My dad however really enjoyed it – and understood a lot more than I did. The Curve audience was lapping it up so it seems it’s definitely popular amongst the fans. The cast got a very warm welcome as they came on stage, with roars of applause when those familiar faces from the original cast appeared.

The story picks up with Gus (Robert Duncan), the former Globe Link News boss, bringing the group back together for a new channel called Truth News. It’s all about chasing likes and impressions now, with Gus obsessed with some thing called “the algorithm.” that seemingly he doesn’t seem to understand himself. We’ve all been there…

Robert Duncan, Julia Hills, Stephen Tompkinson, and Jeff Rawle were the strongest cast members for me showing they were comfortable on stage but also giving me the most laughs from their roles.

The characters may have evolved over the years, but they still feel like old friends slash best enemies. Damien is seemingly in a wheelchair now equipped with his pulling the emotional heartstrings teddy bear and plimsoll (we might need to get some hard proof about the authenticity of all of these), Dave seems to have kicked his gambling habit, REALLY?, and Joy (Susannah Doyle) just seems so mean. There are a couple of new faces too, with Rita (Kerena Jagpal) being the strong, younger unpaid apprentice.

Nothing and nobody is off limit with the jokes. From wokeism to AI, to Prince Andrew, the Pope, and ever Sir David Attenborough. The audience was clapping and laughing along reliving the humour.

You don’t need to be a die-hard fan of the original series to enjoy it— as it is an original spin on today’s media circus. It’s certainly for those who love ‘anti-woke’ humour, It’s not a strong storyline and neither is it a spectacular jaw-dropping play, but it is a funny and light evening out with plenty of satire!