Rarely does a political interview on TV make history. Many are quickly despatched to oblivion, sometimes to the relief of those concerned, no doubt. But the series of interviews between ex-President Richard Nixon and David Frost broadcast in 1977 have remained in the public eye — thanks, not least, to Peter Morgan’s play, and recent film, Frost/Nixon. In the interviews, Nixon eventually conceded that he had participated in the Watergate cover-up and lied to the world about it.

Now the stage version of Frost/Nixon is being revived by Oxford University student company Nightingale Productions. The play is being staged at the Oxford Union, where Nixon himself appeared.

“Nixon came here twice, to try to apologise for the Watergate scandal,” joint director Josie Mitchell explains. “At question time in the Union everybody was apparently trying to get him to say something, and he did. So the play is relevant to this place.”

And indeed, sitting in the Union watching a rehearsal, it’s easy to feel Nixon’s ghostly presence as his “buttered-gravel voice and scowling smile” (to quote the New York Times) rolls around the debating chamber, with actor Aleksandr Cvetkovic delivering Nixon’s lines.

“There’s a line in the play where Nixon says: ‘My political life is over’ which is actually taken from the speech he made in the Union in 1978,” says co-director James Fennemore. “The whole play is couched along the lines of this big debate between two people, which is similar to what goes on every week in the Union.”

The rehearsal continues with one of the behind-the-scenes sequences that Peter Morgan has written into his play. Nixon is fussing that he may appear to be sweating on screen, and where to place his handkerchief so that it’s immediately accessible, but out of sight of the cameras.

Meanwhile Frost (played by Ed Barr-Sim) is being berated by his production team for not driving in hard enough with his questions. How much, I ask Josie Mitchell, has she encouraged her actors to match the voices and mannerisms of the two men themselves?

“With Nixon, I think it’s about getting an impression of the man behind the façade, and then the way he carries himself naturally evolves. “It’s a lot to do with character, and obviously it’s quite a challenge for a 21-year-old actor to play a man who is 54, and not as springy as he was. With the voice, you need to suggest that it has aged, but still has power behind it. A lot of people think Nixon had a sexy voice, and that was part of the reason we chose Aleks to play the part: he has such a good voice anyway.”

And what about Frost? “The play is written quite cleverly in this respect: the first scene featuring Frost shows him doing his talk show in Australia,” James Fennemore replies. “It means that you can throw all of your Frost cards at that scene, so you can do the slight over-the-top voice there. By the time that’s finished, the audience believes you’re David Frost.

“As with Nixon, it’s not so much the voice as projecting the character: the effervescence, the charm, the smile — being the host and working the room.”

But the events dramatised in Frost/Nixon did take place a long time ago, fascinating though they remain. Which begs the question: is gladiatorial political debate on TV a thriving phenomenon today?

“I think so,” James replies. “People are still so angered by the idea of politicians’ ability to avoid questions, and their weaselly answers. “At the same time, it’s really exciting to see people whose oratory is of such a high standard that it enables them to completely avoid being nailed by an interviewer.”