Clive Francis, Simon Rouse and Princess Donnough will star in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister when the comedy show visits Richmond Theatre as part of its upcoming UK tour, following the conclusion of its run at the West End’s Apollo Theatre.
Francis reprises the role of Sir Humphrey Appleby, with Rouse as ex-Prime Minister Jim Hacker. Donnough will also reprise the role of Sophie, with further cast to be announced. It is written and directed by Jonathan Lynn, and co-directed by Michael Gyngell.
From the BAFTA Award-winning co-creator of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, Jonathan Lynn, comes the long-awaited final chapter of British political satire — and it is as cutting, and catastrophically funny as ever.
Jim Hacker is back — older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from Government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee. Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (played by the acclaimed Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases, and well-timed obstruction.
Can Humphrey and Jim out manoeuvre the hostile students, the Fellows, and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say, “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister…”? Brimming with razor-sharp wit, nostalgic brilliance, and more double-speak than a press briefing, this is political comedy at its most timeless — and timely.
Yes, Minister is a British television comedy series written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode seasons, it first aired on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran for 16 episodes from 1986 to 1988. A stage play entitled Yes, Prime Minister premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre in May 2010. The production transferred to the West End where it played at three different theatres and also toured the UK twice to great acclaim.
Set principally in the private office of a British cabinet minister in the fictional Department of Administrative Affairs in Whitehall, Yes Minister follows the ministerial career of Jim Hacker, played by Paul Eddington. His various struggles to formulate and enact policy or effect departmental changes are opposed by the British Civil Service, in particular his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, played by Nigel Hawthorne.
The production ends its run at the Apollo Theatre on May 9, 2026. The tour visits Richmond Theatre on May 26-30. Tickets are on sale now here.
Top image: Simon Rouse and Clive Francis – I’m Sorry Prime Minister – photo by Michael Wharley (image supplied)