After fourteen years of Tory rule, John Crace has seen it all: a bucket-load of sleaze and scandals, myriad of questionable policy decisions, and an ever-revolving door of candidates trying to get themselves to the top of a sinking ship. 

With a bumpy start, Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and the Labour Party have taken the reins while Kemi Badenoch and the Tories slink off to regroup in opposition.

Many proclaim that the United Kingdom's political landscape has changed but are those fabled sunlit uplands finally in view?

Selected from John's much-loved Guardian column, The Bonfire of the Insanities will light up the opera house with a new chapter of governmental absurdity.

This event is on general sale from 14 April 2026

Priority dates are:

17 Mar – Directors Circle, Benefactors and Gold Patrons
24 Mar – Patrons
31 Mar– Gold Friends
7 Apr – Friends
14 Apr – Public and Next Gen