In a space in south London, with the feel of a school gym, Silvio Berlusconi is circling a young woman. Bearded and wearing a tracksuit, he creepily runs a finger down her arm, opens his mouth and bursts into song, “Be gentle with me, principessa.”
This is not, of course, the real former prime minister of Italy – at 86, still in frontline politics as part of the coalition for Giorgia Meloni’s government – but actor Sebastien Torkia, who is playing the role in an outrageous, dark new musical which opens tomorrow.
Described as a “naughty, noisy exposé of the original perma-tanned media mogul-turned populist politician” Berlusconi A New Musical at Southwark Playhouse’s new Elephant space looks at the myth-making of the self-styled “Jesus Christ of politics”, but also at his dark side as told by three formidable women.
“The last thing on many people’s mind is a musical about Berlusconi,” Torkia says. “But when you dig into him a bit, you think, ‘It is the perfect subject…’”
I meet Torkia during rehearsals, as well as director James Grieve, producer Francesca Moody, Ricky Simmonds, the co-writer who has composed the music, and Natalie Kassanga who plays Bella, a guest at a party held by Berlusconi.
The show is set on October 26, 2012, the final day of Berlusconi’s trial for tax fraud (“It pains me so to force myself to readily admit, today, your mighty leader might be in the s**t”). From his prison cell, he seeks to compose an opera looking back at his past from singer to media tycoon, football club owner and politician. Meanwhile the women in his life are seeking to bring him to justice at last. Will they succeed?
“We constructed the conceit around the last day of his real-life trial,” Simmonds says. “The stakes we’re portraying are real. He’s looking at four years in prison if it doesn’t go his way.”
The idea for a Berlusconi musical was first suggested to Simmonds and his co-writer Simon Vaughan by their friend Alan Hayling, the former head of documentaries at the BBC, in 2018.
“We thought it sounded ridiculous,” says Simmonds, who played Ant Jones in Grange Hill in the Eighties and was part of trance music act The Space Brothers, before writing and developing musicals with Vaughan, another Grange Hill alumnus. “But as we looked into it, we realised there was something really interesting behind the character we knew… We realised this was a really good way to tell a story about today’s kind of leaders. Using the guy who wrote the playbook for the modern breed.”
There are little “signposts” to the populist politicians of today, such as the reference to Trump in making the country “great again” and “locker room talk”. Torkia, who lived in Italy in 2001 and 2002 during Berlusconi’s second term, says, “It was quite interesting because everyone I came across couldn’t believe he was prime minister, and yet he was voted in. It felt like the Brexit thing. Everyone I talked to was a Remainer and suddenly we were out.”
Simmonds adds, “Rory Stewart often dubbed [the UK], certainly when Boris was in charge, as being like Berlusconi’s Italy. That parallel, there are so many traits and characteristics of Boris that were similar to Berlusconi.”
As they set about researching, the writers devoured everything they could find online, as well as documentary My Way: The Rise and Fall of Silvio Berlusconi, and the biography Being Berlusconi by journalist Michael Day. With his extraordinary life, and often outlandish and gaffe-prone statements – “I am, without doubt, the person who’s been most persecuted in the entire history of the world and the history of man” – as a character, he was a gift to the writers.
Yet that could also prove a curse. “The slightly frustrating thing is that many people will see it and say, ‘That’s a bit over the top.’ It would be great if we could find a way of saying, ‘He said that, he did that’,” Simmonds says. “Even the fact he started as a cruise ship singer, for those who don’t know about him, that might seem a funny theatrical conceit. But it’s true.” Grieve joked he would have to hold a sign up to the audience during performances saying “True” at regular intervals.
That Berlusconi was a “song and dance man” gave the creatives the way in to tell his story in musical form, the director says. “He is a showman and talks about himself like a showman would. We’re really embracing that theatricality.”
Grieve, who has done other musicals including Fisherman’s Friends, currently on tour, says the writers put in one of the best design descriptions he’s ever read in the script. That is: “Roman forum meets The Price Is Right”.
“That, as a provocation, is glorious. We understand the world of game shows and we understand the world of Caesar – of conspirators and drama – and the weight of history upon these leaders.”
Torkia is something of a musical veteran, with previous roles including Mr Wormwood in Matilda the Musical in the West End. Has he done a musical like this? “No, is the simple answer,” he laughs. “I’ve played bad guys before, though possibly a lot of people don’t see Berlusconi as a bad guy. He’s won a lot of elections in Italy.”
“The interesting thing is he’s a good guy to a lot of people,” says Simmonds. Torkia agrees. “That’s what’s interesting to me as an actor, such a fascinating character with so many facets, and what spurred him on to take over what he did take over: television, football and eventually politics.”
While they look pretty dissimilar when we meet, Torkia will be losing his beard and scraping his hair back for the role. “The nice thing for me is I’m not doing an impersonation of Berlusconi, which gives me a lot of freedom to do my version. I’m here to honour the script. The fact he’s a living person adds a fascinating dimension.”
As well as showing the flamboyant, charismatic showman, Torkia will show the dark side. Indeed, the duality of the show is signposted in the opening number, in which crowds start off singing for him as “Healer, leader, saviour, redeemer”, only to turn on him as, “Liar abuser, corrupter, deceiver.”
One of the things many will know him for, the Bunga Bunga parties, doesn’t come in until the second act. Simmons says, “As soon as we started, people said it should be called Bunga Bunga the Musical, but that isn’t really the point. So there was always a thought of how we’d tackle that. But we think we’ve got a good balance. It’s referenced in two songs.”
Grieve chimes in, “Bunga Bunga became a bit of a joke and one of the things we are trying to achieve – especially through Natalie’s character – was that if it’s just told through Silvio and his mates, then it can feel a comedy thing, but many people have been caught up in that world for whom it was no laughing matter.” The show is trying to balance the intrigue of what happened at those parties, and the stories of people whose lives have been profoundly affected by them.
Kassanga plays Bella, a composite of young women. who shows the human cost. “When I first auditioned for the role, I got emotionally invested straight away,” she says. “To give a voice to this character, to represent and inspire women who may have been through situations like Bella and the other women who have been involved with Berlusconi, I think it’s important to inspire people to know that you can speak up when the time is right.”
“We want to tell a story that is specific on one hand, and representative on another. Listening to Natalie’s extraordinary rendition of Bella’s songs and statements, we understand a bit better about the way women are treated by patriarchal societies and strong-man politicians around the world,” Grieve says.
“We’ve been very conscious that we have a responsibility when we’re talking about the characters in our show, to represent a broader societal picture. It has arisen for Italy but it is absolutely a global problem still. We are in no way sitting in a rehearsal room in London passing judgement on Italy and on other societies. What we’re trying to do is reflect and what can we learn from these characters and experiences.”
It also seeks to show how many feel he diminished Italy after his three terms. “A lot of Italians felt that in the subsequent years,” Simmonds says. “But the extraordinary thing is, he’s back in again as part of the coalition with Giorgia Meloni. He won’t stop.”
The show also covers Berlusconi’s friendship with Vladimir Putin. “That was always in there,” Simmons says. “When the war broke out, we had discussions over whether we could do it. After thinking about it we thought it best to parody; it would be wrong to suddenly cut him out of it. Even though this is based in 2012 we’ve put something in that is a nod to what’s going on. We hope that’s treading the right balance.”
Francesca Moody, the original producer of Fleabag, joined the production about half way through, “I fell in love with it and attached myself to it.” How does a producer go about a show tackling controversial subjects, especially involving living people?
“You have to tell the truth,” she says. “When you’re making a musical about someone like Berlusconi, you have to be really mindful of ensuring everyone in the creative team is protected. I’m really confident we’re doing that. The most important thing for all of us is there’s a statement of intent in making this musical. I really believe it’s important to be brave as well.”
Berlusconi has never taken particularly kindly to criticism or lampooning – “Oh yes, we’re aware,” laughs Moody – though the production is yet to hear from him or his team. “He’s invited to press night though,” Simmonds says. As for the question of an Italian tour, Moody laughs again. “I’ll get back to you on that one.”
