A TOPICAL political comedy will light up the autumn as Skipton Players perform Whipping It Up at Skipton Little Theatre later this month.

The play was written by Steve Thompson, who recently wrote TV drama Jericho, which featured the building of the Settle to Carlisle line.

A Skipton Players spokesman said: “Steve is in top form with this comedy based in the Whip’s office at Westminster in the week before Christmas

“A new Tory government is facing dissent over its latest Bill. With a majority of only three, the Whip’s office is out in full force, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the strays in line.

“But they’re in for a long night: boy scouts are rioting in Whitehall, the PM’s golfing with the President, five Tory rebels are on the loose and the Chief Whip’s playing at Santa – could this be the beginnings of a leadership challenge?”

Steve, born in 1967, was a maths teacher before training as a writer at stage school RADA.

His first play, Damages, was performed at the Bush Theatre in 2004, winning the Meyer-Whitworth Award for new writing.

The following year, as writer-in-residence at The Bush, his next play Whipping It Up was also performed. He also wrote stage plays Roaring Trade and No Naughty Bits.

His first credit for television came on the medical soap Doctors in 2005, and since then he has contributed scripts for popular shows including Silk, Upstairs Downstairs, Doctor Who and Sherlock.

The comedy Whipping It Up will be performed at Skipton Little Theatre, next to the Tesco entrance on Clifford Street, from Tuesday, September 25, to Saturday, September 29.

Doors open at 7pm and the play starts at 7.30pm.

To books tickets, visit skiptonlittletheatre.org.uk or ring 07527 141176.