Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Nicole Vassell

Spitting Image musical coming to West End with puppets of Meghan Markle, Tom Cruise and King Charles

Mark Senior

A stage musical version of Spitting Image is set to launch on the West End.

Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical will feature over 100 puppet caricatures of real-life figures in an irreverent new music-driven play at London’s Phoenix Theatre.

Based on the satirical puppet show, Idiots Assemble was co-written by comedian Al Murray and writers Matt Forde and Sean Foley.

Prior to its West End staging, the show was developed at the Birmingham Rep in early 2023.

In the musical, “King Charles” sets “Tom Cruise” on a special mission to create a task force of celebrities willing and ready to fight for the safety of the public.

Tom Cruise’s band of heroes consists of Greta Thunberg, Meghan Markle, Tyson Fury, RuPaul, Angela Rayner and Idris Elba.

As the “Magnificent Seven”, the celebrities must all work together to save the nation from a cabal of dark forces seeking to destroy it.

Other famous figures set to have puppet representatives in the show include Adele, Elon Musk, Ant and Dec, Keir Starmer, Stormzy and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Angela Rayner, RuPaul and Tyson Fury, as portrayed in the Spitting Image musical (Mark Senior)

As news of the show’s West End’s transfer was announced on Thursday (23 March), Murray shared his excitement for audiences to engage with Spitting Image in a new way.

“When Spitting Image first appeared on British TV, it blew people's minds,” he said in a statement.

“Now it's going to do it all over again in the West End. All the elements the show was famed for: outrageous depictions of the great and the not-so-good, catchy songs, famous faces saying the things you've always wanted to hear them say, all reinvented for the stage. You won't know where to look!”

Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical will run from Wednesday 24 May to Saturday 26 August 2023 at The Phoenix Theatre.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.