An 'Evocative and Compelling' Play: Richard Baker Reviews 'The Gang of Three'
A trio of powerful performances: Colin Tierney as Denis Healey; Hywel Morgan as Roy Jenkins, and Alan Cox as Tony Crosland | Photographer: Manuel Harlan
3 min read
Treat yourself to a ringside seat on history and witness three feuding cabinet giants battle it out for the top job
Ambition, rivalry and competing political visions have been the stuff of each generation of Labour ‘modernisers’. The Gang of Three explores with verve and flair how this was just as true for Tony Crosland, Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins as it was for their successors in the party.
L-r: Actors Hywel Morgan as Roy Jenkins; Colin Tierney as Denis Healey and Alan Cox as Tony Crosland | Photographer: Manuel Harlan
The play opens in April 1972 in Jenkins’ living room, after his resignation as deputy leader over Labour’s opposition to membership of the European Economic Community (EEC). Crosland has arrived in the hope of persuading Jenkins to support his campaign to succeed him. Jenkins instead sets out his own credentials to be the future leader of the party, and he also lists a series of grievances against Crosland. Their debate fizzes with waspish wit and acrimony, and any politician will relish the moment when their dialogue is paused so Crosland can tell the audience directly his unvarnished view of his old friend.
The play moves on to 1976, where the three gather to debate their respective claims to succeed Harold Wilson after his shock resignation as prime minister. The final scene is set in 1980 as Jenkins and Healey debate the future of the party – Healey seeking the leadership and Jenkins considering leaving to found the SDP. The play shows how, at these crucial junctures in the party’s history, the failure of each to put ego and self-interest aside dashed their hopes of leadership. It also looks back to 1940 when Crosland and Jenkins were at Oxford University, showing the depth and intimacy of their friendship and how human relationships play such a vital role in political life and fortunes.
These big beasts of Labour are captured by three powerful performances.
Their debate fizzes with waspish wit and acrimony
Actor Colin Tierney conveys Healey’s imposing presence and mischievous sense of humour. Hywel Morgan is persuasive as Jenkins, not only in his mannerisms but portraying a mix of self-importance and deeply held political convictions. While Crosland is perhaps the least recognisable of the three to a modern audience, Alan Cox’s exceptional performance, abounding in charisma and devilish humour, makes him a compelling, fascinating figure.
Directed by Kirsty Patrick Ward, the play gives the audience a ringside seat for their verbal jousts. The clever staging is evocative of the era – beige backgrounds, bookcases, leather armchairs and drinks cabinets.
Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky have written an absorbing, entertaining play that provides an insight into this era of politics with knowing nods to our own. At one point Crosland tells Jenkins to “stop banging on about Europe, the issue is settled” and criticises the foolishness of their opponents on the left who would support tariffs.
This is a play about how human frailty can thwart ambition, but also about how the ‘gang of three’ were driven by their vision of politics. They had a clarity of political ideology. Theirs was not simply a contest of political ambition but a battle of ideas.
Richard Baker is Labour MP for Glenrothes and Mid Fife
The Gang of Three
Written by: Robert Khan & Tom Salinsky
Directed by: Kirsty Patrick Ward
Venue: King’s Head Theatre, Islington – until 1 June 2025
