AS a thirty-two-year-old man who hasn't seen a single episode of Yes Minister, perhaps a play capping off the story of its main character wasn't for me. 

Nevertheless, I travelled to Cirencester's Barn Theatre to see their latest stage offering, I'm Sorry Prime Minister, I Can't Quite Remember and despite not knowing anything about the world of hapless cabinet minister (and eventual Prime Minister) Jim Hacker and his chief servant Sir Humphrey Appleby, I found it to be a rather endearing send-off. 

The show rose to notoriety in the 1980s and proved to be rather popular leading to three different television series and one other stage play, but 43 years later, a moderately sized theatre would mark its end, with Hacker getting the send-off he deserves from a script written by the show's original co-creator Jonathan Lynn. 

For tickets visit: https://barntheatre.org.uk/im-sorry-prime-minister

Truthfully, from the moment Christopher Bianci's Hacker appeared on stage for the world premiere of the character's finale, I felt almost like an outsider, with the rest of the audience clearly extremely familiar with the character.

But while the sensibilities of the I'm Sorry Prime Minister might be more geared towards an older audience the humour within certainly proved to be timeless and it wasn't long until I was amused by the jokes just as much as anyone else. 

We meet Hacker after he has served his time as Prime Minister where he is now Master of an Oxford College bestowed in his name. However, his politically incorrect behaviour and opinions jeopardise his position, leaving him with no choice but to turn towards his old acquaintance Sir Humphrey. 

The play makes it clear that both Hacker and Humphrey are dinosaurs, flawed, sometimes deeply unlikeable but also deeply human, and this is complemented really well by the inclusion of a young woman of colour Sophie, played by Michaela Bennison, who graduated from Oxford and had applied to be Hacker's carer after struggling because of the cost of living who serves as an able foil to the two elder men.

There are lots of references to current political events like Brexit and Russia with all the political satire you'd expect, but when it comes down to brass tacks, Lynn has rounded off his longtime creation with a rather touching story of an unlikely friendship. 

In fact, given the state of the country and indeed the world at the moment, and the obvious allusions to who might be responsible for at least some of it - the whole thing ends on a particularly hopeful note - that it is still possible amidst all of the chaos to find companionship.