Democracy is a play by Michael Frayn which premiered in London at the Royal National Theatre on September 9, 2003. Directed by Michael Blakemore, and starring Roger Allam as Willy Brandt and Conleth Hill as Günter Guillaume, it won the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle awards for Best Play.
Democracy premiered on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on November 18, 2004, and ran for 173 performances. It was nominated for the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award as Best Play.
It has also been staged in Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki (2005), Wellington, Vancouver, Toronto and Moscow (2016).
A revival of the play, directed by Paul Miller at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, transferred to London's Old Vic Theatre in 2012.
The play, based on actual events, deals with the decision West German chancellor Willy Brandt had to make about exposing the Communist spy Günter Guillaume who worked as his secretary and had heard some of the state's most important secrets.
Contents
Original London cast
Willy Brandt – Roger Allam
Hans-Dietrich Genscher – Nicholas Blane
Ulrich Bauhaus – Paul Broughton
Horst Ehmke – Jonathan Coy
Günther Nollau – Christopher Ettridge
Helmut Schmidt – Glyn Grain
Reinhard Wilke – Paul Gregory
Günter Guillaume – Conleth Hill
Arno Kretschmann – Steven Pacey
Herbert Wehner – David Ryall
Original Broadway cast (principals)
Willy Brandt – James Naughton
Günter Guillaume – Richard Thomas
Arno Kretschmann – Michael Cumpsty
Herbert Wehner – Robert Prosky
Reinhard Wilke – Terry Beaver
Helmut Schmidt – John Dossett