Posh

The foyer of the Court House Theatre was buzzing on this warm late summer evening and we were soon spotted by a member of the Front of House team who kindly offered to fetch the Director so we could have a chat prior to curtain up. The Director’s time though was obviously precious and I felt unable to detain her any longer than was absolutely necessary. I have since been told that shortly before the doors opened there were staffing issues at the tea bar and her presence was required not only then but also during the interval.  These things happen of course and when they do its all hands on deck, including the Director!  

Laura Wade’s play takes us into the world of privilege and elitism where money can buy you (almost) anything.  Ten young male undergraduates from various Oxford colleges are regrouping and planning a night of riotous dining.  All are members of the notorious Riot Club who have been forced to tone things down and take a break since details of their last termly dinner found their way into the pages of a national newspaper. This time they have moved their antics out of Oxford to a private dining room in a country pub, calling themselves young entrepreneurs.

There was some excellent acting in this production and it was obvious that each of the Riot Club members had immersed themselves into developing their characters. This may not always have been easy as the play has foul language throughout and vulgar sexual references which break through the barriers of conceived decency.  I usually like to comment on individual performances but in this play I felt the members of the Riot Club came together as one and that it would be wrong to pick out any individual actors.  

One actor I will mention though is Barry Taylor who as Chris the pub landlord was tested to the limit by the alcohol fuelled behaviour of these arrogant posh boys but managed to keep his cool until the end. The same goes for his daughter Rachel played by Abigail C Hunt who continued clearing the table while all the time being propositioned and eventually assaulted.

The end is unexpected and violent and involves an ambulance and the police being called. 

Although quite long, the play kept up a good pace with everyone remaining in character throughout even when there were sometimes long intervals between their lines. The set was fairly simple but worked well and lighting and sound were good.

So, did I enjoy it?  Well, if I’m honest this is not a play I would have chosen to see.  However my job involves getting beneath the content and assessing the casting and the acting as well as the direction, none of which I could fault.

Congratulations to all involved and I look forward to seeing members of the cast in future productions.

Thank you for your invitation.

 

 

 

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