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‘Are they going to keep on replacing whoever’s in charge?’ Hamilton audience have a ‘blast’ amid Liz Truss resignation

One attendee, who recorded the reaction, said seeing the show on such a monumental day in British politics was ‘a blast’

Ellie Harrison
Friday 21 October 2022 09:22 BST
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Liz Truss lettuce projected onto Westminster hours after resignation

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A particular lyric, which is performed every single evening while Hamilton is on in the West End, had the audience cheering and laughing for the first time last night (20 October).

The resignation of prime minister Liz Truss on Thursday 20 October, after just six weeks in the role, gave one of the lines in the show a whole new meaning.

In a part in the musical where King George III (played by Joel Montague) is asking who is going to be in charge of America after George Washington’s retirement, he sings: “Are they going to keep on replacing whoever’s in charge? If so, who’s next?”

In a recording of the moment by a Twitter user called Matt, the audience can be heard cheering and laughing at the lyric.

The caption to the recording reads: “Being at Hamilton West End the day Liz Truss resigned was a blast.”

Hamilton – the acclaimed musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda about the American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton – is currently on at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London’s West End.

Following Truss’s resignation on Thursday, many celebrities from Ricky Gervais to Nish Kumar led reactions on Twitter.

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke shared a fierce condemnation of the Tory government, while comedian Joe Lycett joked that Truss should run again in the new leadership race.

Truss’s resignation to make way for the third prime minister in just eight weeks has led to a surge in demand for a general election.

Truss resigning
Truss resigning (alberto pezzali)

Within hours of her announcement, signatures onThe Independent’s campaign for an immediate election passed a quarter of a million.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the public “deserve a proper say on the country’s future”, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey issued a call for Conservative MPs to “do their patriotic duty, put the country first and give the people a say”.

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