REVIEW: Churchill’s Urinal by Rosie Holt at King’s Head Theatre 13 May - 6 June 2026
'great fodder for humour and commentary' ★★★ ½
Rosie Holt created a fantastic series of sketches during Covid as a clueless Tory MP, justifying the ridiculous actions of the Conservative party. After the Conservatives lost power, she switched to the Labour Party, naturally. In this ‘alternate world’ piece, she is the first female Chancellor Of the Exchequer (not Rachel Reeves). Yet, the story is seeded from Reeves' real experience of discovering how difficult it would be to remove a urinal from her bathroom because of its historical significance. Yes, a urinal. Of course, great fodder for humour and commentary. Much like the child’s joke about ‘uranus’ (sound it out if you’re too high brow to know this one), there are mentions of pee and other 'crap' jokes. More importantly, there is thoughtful commentary about Churchill: the man, the legend, the mythology.
The political humour may not be as biting as when she played her (online) Tory MP character, despite much acerbic name-dropping, but she juggles many elements throughout the show's 70 minutes. Holt goes from handling different physical telephone lines (which doesn’t land so well), dealing with an enshrined urinal, and handling an angry, Churchill-deifying mob. She works hard. And she has to: it is not only the patriarchy, but the physical environment isn’t exactly in her favor with ventilation noise roaring throughout in the space, so Holt has to try to articulate above it. Her desk (aptly, also an object of historical significance) is thrust too far forward that much of her audience is behind her, missing out on her contorted facial expressions, which are sometimes just as key to the humour as her words.
Holt has some salient points to make about females in positions of political power, though some early jokes slightly alienate her more-than-half-male audience, even addressing individual men, who couldn’t possibly give her a good answer. The through line of Holt’s impending divorce (and random conversations with her ex) doesn’t seem to have a purpose other than to give her an opportunity to swear (accidentally) at the wrong person. The main humour that really takes off centers on the national pressure to keep the urinal (and her pristine, speaking made-in-Japan toilet).
As the tension builds and a drink-fueled and obstinate Rosie is holed up in her office. Churchill’s urinal (Michael Lambourne)- yes, the urinal talks and walks - is a wonderful foil to this flustered politician who just wants to make change - not politics, just in her personal bathroom - and provides a delightful Churchill echo, as well as some other characters voiced extremely well. When he appears in the second half, there is a real shift in style that adds more energy to the piece. With pressure to show fealty to the urinal, a mob grows outside and Holt must yield or be crushed. It is this that is her ‘finest hour’. Holt gives a rousing speech to a worked-up crowd that allows her to uphold her personal values.
She is a character, Rosie Holt. If not, I’d vote for her as Prime Minister!
Written by Rosie Holt; additional material by Stewart Lee
Performed by Rosie Holt, Michael Lambourne
Directed by Daniel Clarkson
Sound Designer: Jac Cooper
Produced by: James Seabright
