The Death of Stalin

Cert: 15A; Now showing

The final days of Stalin’s dictatorship is not an obvious setting from which to mine comedy gold but Armando Iannucci has not got where he is by being conventional. The Scottish satirist made a name for himself with the brilliant current affairs spoof The Day Today (which, of course, paved the way for both Brass Eye and the Alan Partridge character).

What all these elements have in common is an acidic aftertaste to the humour, and The Death of Stalin — penned by Iannucci and regular co-writers David Schneider and Ian Martin — is no different. We’re in the Kremlin, where everyone from unscrupulous secret police chief Beria (Simon Russell Beale) to a local orchestral producer (Paddy Considine) are jumping through hoops lest Comrade Stalin should find ill-favour with them and add them to the considerable purges taking place. When he pops his clogs, it throws his cabinet into a tizzy. Power-plays get nudged about by Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) and Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor) while deference must still be feigned to their glorious leader, especially with his unhinged son and daughter (Rupert Friend and Andrea Riseborough) about.

That cast is bolstered by Jason Isaacs (pictured right), Michael Palin, Paul Whitehouse and our own Dermot Crowley.

Unashamedly British humour prances about the ruthless corridors of Soviet power and the effect is fresh and priceless.

Think Blackadder but, well, redder.