''Democracy'' is a play by

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce ''Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the Mo ...

which premiered in London at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

on September 9, 2003. Directed by

Michael Blakemore Michael Howell Blakemore OBE, AO (born 18 June 1928) is an Australian actor, writer and theatre director who has also made a handful of films. A former Associate Director of the National Theatre, in 2000 he became the only individual to win T ...

, and starring

Roger Allam Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor, who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical ''Les Misérables'', First Officer D ...

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...

and

Conleth Hill Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has performed on stage in productions in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the United States. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards and received two Ton ...

Günter Guillaume Günter Guillaume (1 February 1927 – 10 April 1995) was a German spy who gathered intelligence as an agent for East Germany's secret service, the Stasi, in West Germany. Guillaume became West German chancellor Willy Brandt's secretary, a ...

, it won the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' and Critics' Circle awards for Best Play. ''Democracy'' premiered on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the

Brooks Atkinson Theatre The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert ...

on November 18, 2004, and ran for 173 performances. It was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

and

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

as Best Play. It has also been staged in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

(2005),

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and Moscow (2016). A revival of the play, directed by Paul Miller at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...

, transferred to London's

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

in 2012. The play, based on actual events, deals with the decision West German chancellor

had to make about exposing the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

who worked as his secretary and had heard some of the state's most important secrets.

Original London cast

* Willy Brandt –

* Hans-Dietrich Genscher –

Nicholas Blane Nicholas Blane is an English actor. Career He is best known for his roles in stage productions such as '' Year of the Rat'', '' See How They Run'' and ''Democracy''. He has appeared in numerous British television and film projects, including ...

* Ulrich Bauhaus –

Paul Broughton Paul Broughton (31 March 1931 – 3 December 2022) was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and club chief executive. He was the Chairman of the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. He also served on the board of the North Queensland Cowboys ...

* Horst Ehmke –

Jonathan Coy Jonathan Coy (born 24 April 1953, in Hammersmith, London) is a British actor. He has worked since 1975 largely in television, notably as Henry in the long-running legal series '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' and as Bracegirdle in the television ser ...

* Günther Nollau –

Christopher Ettridge Christopher Ettridge (born 21 February 1948) is an English actor and director born in Isleworth, London. Career Ettridge is best known for his role as dim but good-natured police officer Reg Deadman in the time-travelling comedy series '' Goo ...

* Helmut Schmidt – Glyn Grain * Reinhard Wilke – Paul Gregory * Günter Guillaume –

* Arno Kretschmann –

Steven Pacey Steven Pacey (born 5 June 1957) is an English actor, best known for his role as Del Tarrant in the 3rd and 4th series of the science fiction series ''Blake's 7'' from January 1980 to December 1981. Personal life Pacey was born in Leamington Spa ...

* Herbert Wehner –

David Ryall David John Ryall
Retrieved 28 December 2014 (5 January 1935 – 25 December 201 ...

Original Broadway cast (principals)

* Willy Brandt –

James Naughton James Naughton (born December 6, 1945) is an American actor and director. He is best known as Michael Bower on '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984-1992) and was also notable for his earlier role as the astronaut Pete Burke in the 1974 single-season telev ...

* Günter Guillaume – Richard Thomas * Arno Kretschmann –

Michael Cumpsty Michael Cumpsty (born 28 February 1960) is a British actor. He has been acting since childhood. He has worked extensively performing Shakespeare, as well as both musicals and dramas on Broadway. He also performs in films and on television. Lif ...

* Herbert Wehner –

Robert Prosky Robert Prosky (born Robert Joseph Porzuczek, December 13, 1930 – December 8, 2008) was an American actor. He became a well-known supporting actor in the 1980s with his roles in '' Thief'' (1981), ''Christine'' (1983), ''The Natural'' (1984), an ...

* Reinhard Wilke – Terry Beaver * Helmut Schmidt –

John Dossett John Dossett (born April 15, 1958) is an American actor and singer. Early life and education Dossett attended Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1972 through 1976, where he was an announcer for the school's radio station, ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing

Interview with Michael Frayn September 19, 2003

broadwaycom.com summary of critics
Plays by Michael Frayn 2003 plays Willy Brandt