‘Basically, I’m a spineless wimp’

I shift from the theatre to politics. Last summer in The Spectator (‘Starstruck by David Cameron’, 5 July), Berkoff wrote an extraordinary paean to Cameron and his hour-long conference speech of 2007. Berkoff’s enthusiasm is undiminished. ‘I was moved by his sensitivity to the world, his emphasis on the values of our society which were going into decay and which we must restore. There was something a little bit spiritual about the speech. I was not only moved by it, I was impressed, as an actor, because you can tell when there’s a bit of fake. It’s very easy. When you saw Thatcher it was always fake. The head to one side, the pursed mouth. It was fake!’ ‘What about Blair?’ Berkoff greatly admired him in the early years. ‘There was an ability to touch something inside him that lit the air, you know, he set the atmosphere on fire with his passion. Now unfortunately Gordon,’ his tone drops to a throaty burr, ‘he puts on this voice. And then he puts on this smile. And, oh, it’s horrible. But Cameron never does it, never smiles, just comes on and tells it straight.’

‘Would you be tempted to vote for him?’ ‘Yes, absolutely. What have Labour done for us the last eight years or so? It’s not been very healthy. They’ve cheated and chiselled us. They’ve made the Labour party a mask covering a lot of very, very greedy entrepreneurs. They even campaigned to turn the Dome into a casino, really passionately campaigned for it, saying casinos would regenerate the regions. I thought, that’s how Labour sees regeneration? With casinos to further demoralise people? Labour, I thought, you need a swift kick up the arse. Because this is not the way!’ He breaks off and chuckles at the intensity of his condemnation. But this time he isn’t joking.

On the Waterfront is at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 25 April; tickets: 0845 481 1870