Hansard; noun The official report of all parliamentary debates.

It’s a summer’s morning in 1988 and Tory politician Robin Hesketh has returned home to the idyllic Cotswold house he shares with his wife of 30 years, Diana. But all is not as blissful as it seems. Diana has a stinking hangover, a fox is destroying the garden, and secrets are being dug up all over the place. As the day draws on, what starts as gentle ribbing and the familiar rhythms of marital sparring quickly turn to blood-sport.

Can a play show that time stands still? In politics at least. The fact that Hansard is set in 1988 baffles some as the mirrors to today’s political landscape and attitude are uncanny. The sparring between Diana and Robin could be happening today, the themes, the despair at the world, even the ending highlights a current problem in today’s world – one that is often swept under the carpet, not discussed, covered by the British stiff upper lip and utter refusal to acknowledge some emotions.

This play is a dynamic rollercoaster of recognition: from marital battles, to polar political opinions, to the love that still peeks out beneath decades of emotional barriers.