They had originally planned to base the show around Boris Johnson, but ended up binning the whole script the day after the former prime minister left Downing Street.
"I think we were probably, apart from him, the last people left in the country who wanted him to stay," said the comedian Al Murray, who has co-written the show alongside the impressionist Matt Forde and the show's director, Sean Foley.
"But it's meant that we arrived on the thing we've got, which is Tom Cruise in the centre of the show, rather than a politician. It's as much about showbiz as politics."
Their new stage production, Idiots Assemble - Spitting Image Saves the World, is the show's first foray into the world of theatre, and features more than 100 of the caricature puppets that people have seen on their TV screens over the years.
"I think theatre is the best place to experience Spitting Image," said Forde. "I'm amazed it was never done before. This is the natural home for it. To have something that's so visually striking - it's bizarre that no one at any point in its history said people should be able to come and see these things."
This story is from the January 27, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the January 27, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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