About the Play:

Eden's Empire is a full-length drama by James Graham. A war over oil, waged against the wishes of the UN and supported by dodgy intelligence. A British prime minister sending troops to topple the leader of an Arab nation. Anti-war demonstrations at home. Eden's Empire shows a prime minister worn down by the cares of office and consumed by an intractable crisis in the Middle East.

Eden's Empire explores the Suez Crisis of 1956, Britain's aborted invasion of Egypt (in secret collusion with France and Israel) and why it was a defining moment in British history. Condemned by the UN and accused of falsifying intelligence, Prime Minister Anthony Eden was left fighting for his political life against a Party disillusioned, a public betrayed, and a wily Chancellor, Harold Macmillan, with ambitions to take his place. With the pressure of opposition to his war, the dashing, upper-class Eden rapidly lost his grip on both the Empire and his health. Unable to control the growing power of both the United States and the Arab world, nor his own failing body, history would mark him as the worst British Prime Minister of the twentieth century (so a BBC radio panel decided). Eden's Empire is an uncompromising political thriller exploring with electrifying theatricality the events of the Suez Crisis, and the tragic story of its flawed hero – Winston Churchill's golden boy and heir apparent, Anthony Eden. The virtue of this gripping chronological account of that famous fiasco is that it acts as a reminder of the madness that occasionally overtakes those in power.

Eden's Empire premiered in 2006 at the Finborough Theatre in London and went on to win the Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play of 2007.

Cast: 1 female, 4 male

What people say:

"There was much wry audience laughter at the similarities here with the predicament of another (would-be) Prime Minister-in-waiting." — The Independent

"Graham's play is both a dramatic piece of living history and a timely demonstration of the danger of allowing foreign policy to be dictated by a prime minister who flagrantly flouts international law." — The Guardian

"The parallels he draws between the politically disastrous PM of post-war Britain, Anthony Eden, and his latter-day namesake are so bold you'd have to be, well, Tony Blair to miss them... The circles of similarity are drawn so tight it's almost disorientating." — Time Out

About the Playwright:

James Graham is a British playwright, television writer and one-time actor. His work has been staged throughout the UK, at theatres including the Bush, Soho Theatre, and the National Theatre.