As Britain prepares for a General Election, Nottingham Playhouse and Salisbury Playhouse are presenting a co-production of Laura Wade’s political comedy Posh.
Drawing inspiration from Oxford University’s elitist Bullingdon Club which counts David Cameron, George Osborne and Boris Johnson among its former members, Posh is “a hilarious and razor-sharp look” at the connections between privilege and politics.
After a series of unfavourable press articles forces them to lay low, the ten members of the Riot Club are reunited in a country pub. But, as the evening progresses and the drink flows, things get disastrously out of hand, with the dark side of wealth and excess becoming exposed.
Posh is directed by Susannah Tresilian who said, “political theatre, particularly when it’s funny—which this play is—can be at best a source of revolution through entertainment.
“But in the shadow of Charlie Hebdo and Raif Badawi being sentenced to 1,000 lashes for promoting free speech in Saudi Arabia, we can only take this satire—and the fact that we can stage it—seriously. I’m looking forward immensely to seeing you there, generating that discussion and exercising our right to speak freely.”
She added, “I'm delighted that Nottingham and Salisbury Playhouses are producing the regional première of Posh. No doubt class, privilege and power will continue to be big issues this year, and I’m looking forward to the debate continuing in the theatre foyer. It's great that a whole new audience will get to peek behind the door into the heady world of the Riot Club.”
The cast includes Tom Palmer, Jordan Metcalfe, Simon Haines, Tom Clegg, Phil Labey, Tom Hanson, Kaffe Keating, Dario Coates, Robbie Jarvis, Jamie Satterthwaite, Joanne Evans, Laurence Kennedy, Neil Caple and Charlotte Brimble.
Posh is designed by Ellan Parry with sound by Isobel Waller-Bridge, who has composed a specially commissioned requiem for the production. Lighting is by Alexandra Stafford-Marshall.
Posh runs at Nottingham Playhouse from Friday 13 February until Saturday 28 February. Press night will be on Tuesday 17 February.