I went into Churchill’s Urinal thinking, “A play about Winston Churchill’s toilet? Surely this is a complete piss take.” And yes — brilliantly, it is.
You may recall, back in 2024 Rachel Reeves made a bit of noise about the Urinal in her private toilet when she became Britain’s first female Chancellor of the Exchequer: Reeves discovered there was still a urinal in her private Treasury office — a relic she reportedly wanted removed. That detail, among many others, helped inspire Churchill’s Urinal, which has been masterfully created, written, and performed by the extraordinarily talented Rosie Holt. All the ingredients there for a beautifully theatrical pie!
The show is pacey and runs at 70 minutes, I didn’t check my watch once and was fully focused on the drama. As an audience member you even forget that the seat you’re sat on is quite narrow and uncomfortable on your bum!
Beneath the absurd premise of Churchill’s Urinal lies a razor-sharp satire of the UK’s current political landscape. Honestly, if your day to day is living in Britain, this feels like essential viewing: painfully relevant, scarily truthful, and consistently belly-laugh funny.
Rosie Holt is outstanding as the first female Chancellor of the Exchequer in our dystopian 2026 Britain. Rosie is on stage (even if by voice only) throughout the full production and is joined on occasion by talented multi-rolling Michael Lambourne – it would be wrong to disclose his characters’ names as this would give away a major part of the plot.
Holt’s performance level is first class, as is Michael Lambourne’s, however, Holt really is top of her game. An incredible experience watching her character unravel throughout the production – as Churchill said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat“. And both Holt and her chancellor emulate this beautifully.
This production cleverly juxtaposes Holt’s naturalistic (and at some points absurdist) performance style alongside the casual breaking of the elusive fourth wall. Her delivery comes across as an effortless way of speaking to the audience as though they’re old friends, she does this without ever losing the precision of her more naturalist performance. Holt is able to seamlessly manage to evoke multiple characters in the audience’s minds without us ever meeting them, my favourite being the presumably Gen Z Sophie.
This writer /performer already has great traction on social platforms, I’d strongly recommend you catch her in an intimate theatre setting before her only appearances will be limited to Netflix specials.
The show is astute, brilliantly written, and superbly performed, Churchill’s Urinal is an absolute must-see at King’s Head Theatre. Also, any John Nettles fans will be pleasantly surprised.
To sum up, it’s a Spitting Image upgrade without the puppets!
It is also worth noting that last night was my first visit to the King’s Head Theatre in its ‘new’ location, (next door to the King’s Head Pub) I must say I wasn’t disappointed. To note this space is fully accessible with lifts from street entrance to performance space – such a joy when you see how many staircases both up and down you have to take to get into the venue otherwise!
Review by Faye Stockley
Freshly installed in 11 Downing Street, a fearless female Chancellor of the Exchequer is determined to get rid of the ancient urinal in her grace-and-favour en-suite. Intrigue overflows into outrage when it transpires that the porcelain was first tinkled on by that undying icon of Britishness, Winston Churchill. Soon, the whole nation has a view on this storm in a pisspot. Join us for this rambunctious romp through the corridors of power and discover whether our fearless Chancellor’s grip on her Budget red box can survive the clamour for her Whitehall washroom to be awarded a Blue Plaque.
Writer/ Performer | Rosie Holt
Co-Star | Michael Lambourne
Additional Material | Stewart Lee
Director | Daniel Clarkson
Producer | Seabright Live
CHURCHILL’S URINAL
King’s Head Theatre
13 May to 6 June 2026
