美国国家公共电台 NPR Who's Got A Plan For Brexit? This Hit Musical Does（在线收听）

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Many Britons worry that Britain's exit from the European Union will be bad for business. But Brexit has been great fodder for performing arts - a drama at the National Theatre, a spy novel and two musical comedies. NPR's Joanna Kakissis has our story of "Brexit: The Musical" and its unlikely creator.

JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: I'm having tea with London lawyer Chris Bryant at a cafe in Edinburgh, Scotland. I'll explain why we're in Edinburgh a bit later. But first, let's go back to last summer, when Bryant, who specializes in EU trade law, was counseling clients nervous about Brexit.

CHRIS BRYANT: Queries were coming in from all directions, left, right and center, every single sector of the economy. And, also, it was complicated by the fact that there were a lot of things that we just simply did not know and still do not know.

KAKISSIS: All this turmoil took a toll on Bryant's nerves. But instead of yoga or meditation, he turned to his trusted form of therapy, songwriting.

BRYANT: I like to write songs as a way of relaxing so I can focus my mind entirely.

KAKISSIS: He'd been doing this since his teens.

BRYANT: A friend of mine made a joke, saying, you write musicals as a hobby. You should write "Brexit: The Musical." And, immediately, it put the seed in my mind that I thought it could be quite a way of helping just to make sense of everything that's going on.

KAKISSIS: He wrote the first song, "Democracy," in just a few hours.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSICAL, "BREXIT: THE MUSICAL")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (As characters, singing) It's democracy.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As character, singing) How we going to keep it where we all get to have our say?

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (As characters, singing) It's democracy.

KAKISSIS: Then came the plot, which included clueless politicians, amnesia and a missing secret plan that would get the U.K. out of this mess. Then more songs, including this one.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

VIRGE GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May, singing) They call me a bloody difficult woman.

KAKISSIS: That would be current Prime Minister Theresa May.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May, singing) It's only 'cause I have to deal with bloody difficult men.

KAKISSIS: Bryant had a hunch that this musical would appeal to a wider audience beyond his family and friends. So he showed it to a prominent theater producer.

BRYANT: And she thought, yeah, it's got legs. It's got a great potential. And her suggestion comes was that we come to Edinburgh to do it. She brought in the director, the musical director, casting director, choreographer, everybody that we need.

KAKISSIS: His musical was staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last month.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May) When I say Brexit means Brexit...

KAKISSIS: That's actress Virge Gilchrist as Theresa May. She confronts fellow conservative politicians Boris Johnson and Michael Gove because they'd campaigned for Brexit to get ahead politically.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May) Well...

(LAUGHTER)

GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May) ...I hope you two are proud of yourselves. You better have a damn good plan to get out of this mess.

JAMES WITT: (As Boris Johnson) Ah, Theresa, about that...

GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May) What?

WITT: (As Boris Johnson) You see, we haven't got a plan either.

KAKISSIS: Actor James Witt plays Boris Johnson as a clown in Union Jack underwear and a platinum blonde wig.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WITT: (As Boris Johnson, singing) Everything has blown up in my face. I go from hero to national disgrace.

KAKISSIS: But Witt also wanted to show a darker side.

WITT: So he's a different persona. He's got two personas, I think, which we don't see on TV much because the media is so sanitized. And, really, the stage is the only place where you can tell the truth anymore, I think.

KAKISSIS: In the audience is Les Edwards, a 70-year-old property manager who voted for Brexit and now has doubts. The musical made him laugh.

LES EDWARDS: We have a great gift for making satire and making fun of ourselves. It's good fun to do it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GILCHRIST: (As Theresa May, singing) By George, that's really something. Looks like you've saved the day.

KAKISSIS: Chris Bryant watched in awe as his musical became a sold-out hit in Edinburgh. Now it's back to reality as a trade lawyer, wondering what the U.K.'s Brexit plan will be.

BRYANT: We do have a plan in the musical, which I won't reveal. And I think our plan in the musical is a better plan than the government has.

KAKISSIS: In "Brexit: The Musical," I'll just say that a song saves the day. Chris Bryant can vouch for that. Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Edinburgh.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WITT: (As Boris Johnson, singing) By George, you're making me stressed...