Sir Michael and Sir George: A Tale of Comsa and Discus and The New Elizabethans

A satirical comedy first published in 1964 by one of the twentieth century’s most prolific, influential and adaptable writers. ‘Most people here don’t give a damn about scholarship and the arts, and they include nearly all the men who are running the country. They may pretend to, but they don’t really care…’ Deadly rivals Sir Michael Stratherrick (womaniser and Director of COMSA) and Sir George Drake (Director of DISCUS with little interest in the arts) are threatened with extinction. Her Majesty’s Treasury plans to abolish both organisations and set up a new and expanded arts department within the Ministry of Higher Education. There can only be room for one director. So begins a contemptuous fight for survival with both men and their organisations seeking to out-manoeuvre and undermine each other at every turn. As the action moves through the shire counties and the North of England, the strip-tease bars of Soho and the plush surroundings of expense account Mayfair, things become even more complicated as we learn that along with their jobs, Sir George’s marriage and Sir Michael’s carefree single days are also under threat. With Priestley’s characteristic humanity and sympathy for his characters’ plights, this tremendously entertaining satire attacks the whole world of subsidised arts councils, those who support them with public money, civil service bureaucrats and the machinations of Government politics. As bureaucracy and the reach of Government continue to expand, this is very much a relevant novel for our time.