The Diary: Chris Bryant

Chris Bryant | Issue 4 | Magazine, Politics

From the Archive

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 18: RuPaul Charles at RuPaul's DragCon UK presented by World Of Wonder at Olympia London on January 18, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for World Of Wonder Productions)

MPs apparently rank somewhere between pigeons and rats. Recent polling suggests that things are getting worse

Waterworks Many years ago, I acted in Richard II in the National Youth Theatre (in round about 1872). I played Aumerle and had to cry so that Richard could say to me: “Aumerle thou weep’st, my tender-hearted cousin!” It was my big moment, and was certainly easier than delivering my opening line in Act 3 scene 2, “How brooks your grace the air, after your late tossing on the breaking seas?” – which always had the schoolboy audiences in stitches. I managed to cry every night, but sadly, tears came more readily from my right eye, which was upstage, so I had to sniffle and turn at just the right moment so the audience could see them stream down my right cheek. These days tears come easily. Pretty much anything will set me off. John Lewis adverts, American rom-coms, inspirational moments in The West Wing (the TV show not the place, obviously), funerals, declarations of love, anything vaguely emotional on Strictly, 70,000 Welsh men and women singing the Welsh national anthem in harmony in th...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.