Ryan Early will play spin doctor Seth Dickens in the premiere of Party Games! by Michael McManus at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford from May 2 to 11.

Ryan joins Matthew Cottle, as prime minister John Waggner, and Debra Stephenson, as deputy leader Lisa Williams. The cast also includes Natalie Dunne, Krissi Bohn, Jason Callender and William Oxborrow.

Directed by Yvonne Arnaud director and chief executive Joanna Read, Party Games! is written by a man who worked in Central Office while Margaret Thatcher and John Major were prime ministers, and was a special adviser to several UK ministers from 1992 to 1995.

He was head of Ted Heath’s private office from 1995 to 2000 and Conservative candidate for Watford in 2001.

Party Games! is set in the UK in 2026. John Waggner, new leader of the hastily formed centrist One Nation Party, presides over a hung parliament, a discontented electorate and striking cheesemakers. He and his power-hungry MPs must cling to authority however possible.

Can a Svengali spin doctor and dodgy data unite the country? What role can his wife, the King and a large spider play in keeping the lights on, not to mention his AI?

For tickets, priced from £29 (concessions from £13), call 01483 440000 or visit Yvonne-Arnaud.co.uk