On the conditions and possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as her young lover is a satirical

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

 book, published in 2005 with a new edition released in 2008, by the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

ous author Richard Meros, and an adapted play

Theatrical adaptation

In a theatrical adaptation, material from another artistic medium, such as a novel or a film is re-written according to the needs and requirements of the theatre and turned into a play or musical....

 of the same name written by Arthur Meek and Geoff Pinfield.

Book

The book centres around the author's belief that Helen Clark

Helen Clark

Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...

, the Prime Minister of New Zealand

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

, would find personal and political rejuvenation if she was to take on a younger lover, and that the ideal person to be that lover is Meros. The author contends that Helen Clark is a woman of intellectual pursuits and that:

"her surroundings of subordinates ... probably leaves her with unfulfilled desires for a situation where roles are reversed and she can become the double-double agent of gender

Gender

Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...

 deconstruction

Deconstruction

Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...

s."

It was described in The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

 as a treatise of "sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...

 and cringe-making erotica

Erotica

Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...

" and covers such subjects as Rogernomics

Rogernomics

The term Rogernomics, a portmanteau of "Roger" and "economics", was coined by journalists at the New Zealand Listener by analogy with Reaganomics to describe the economic policies followed by Roger Douglas after his appointment in 1984 as Minister of Finance in the Fourth Labour Government...

 and a bus strike. The book also examines what the sex acts would entail, with detailed descriptions of flesh and bodily fluids.

The book was conceived while the author was in Minneapolis, and completed while he was writing a Masters thesis at Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...

. The first edition had a print-run of only 50 copies, but further editions were subsequently released. As of January 2008 the author claimed that only 16 copies had been sold, but in August of that year, after the success of the play, stated that over 400 had been sold.

Stage adaptation

The book was adapted for stage by actor Arthur Meek and director Geoff Pinfield, and premiered at Wellington's BATS Theatre

Bats Theatre

BATS Theatre is New Zealand's leading venue for the development of new theatre practitioners and plays. Most of the productions at Bats Theatre are New Zealand works...

 in early 2008. In the play Meek portrays Meros giving a Powerpoint presentation lecture tour, narrating why Helen Clark needs a young lover, bringing the issue to the Prime Minister's attention, and impressing her intellect:

"She is a very rational woman. It would take more than chocolates or flowers to woo her. The show is designed to appeal to that rationality"

He critiques individualist liberalism

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

 and imagines being taken by Clark to a secret "pleasure dome" and bolsters his argument with Kantian

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....

 theory. The play was well received critically and described as "slightly disturbing, but highly entertaining... sharp political satire". The play is said to have been seen by staffers of Helen Clark, and recommended by her husband Peter Davis

Peter Davis (New Zealand)

Peter Davis is a sociologist and the husband of former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. He met Clark – then a political-science lecturer at Auckland – in 1977...

. After a successful first season the play toured New Zealand, and has returned to Wellington's Downstage Theatre

Downstage Theatre

The Downstage Theatre is a theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, and the country's longest running professional theatre, established in 1964.The founders at the inaugural meeting in the Wellington Public Library on 15 May 1964 were actors Peter Bland, Tim Elliott and Martyn Sanderson, with...

for a second season.

External links

• Lawrence and Gibson Publishing Collective - book details
• Outrageous new book imagines PM’s love-life (Press release for the book)
• THCAPOHCTMAHYL - The Play Arrives At Bats - BATS Theatre description of the play.