Two arts administrators—and bitter rivals—go toe-to-toe in a battle to secure their agencies’ futures in this rollicking workplace comedy from one of the twentieth century’s great, underappreciated masters.
Sir Michael Stratherrick, director of the National Commission for Scholarship of the Arts (COMSA), and Sir George Drake, director of the Department of Information and Cultural Services (DISCUS), could not be more different. While Sir George is a dedicated civil servant who approaches art with the diligence he’d bring to any assignment or subject (Sir Michael might call him dull), Sir Michael knows how to appreciate the privileges his position affords him, and approaches his life, if not necessarily his work, with a passion (Sir George might call him a dilettante).
Of course, from the outside, it may appear that both COMSA and DISCUS are government-funded arts organizations with curiously similar remits. But as either Sir Michael or Sir George would be quick to tell you, his own organization is clearly superior his rival’s. Unfortunately, Her Majesty’s government does not agree: COMSA and DISCUS are being audited, one of the organizations will be shuttered, and there will only be room for one Director.
Sir Michael and Sir George must deploy schemes, countermeasures, and a dash of corporate espionage in order to get ahead—and make sure their competitor goes under.
