Review: Posh at the Duke of York's theatre

It would be ASBOs all round if it weren’t for the privileged backgrounds of the ten members of the exclusive Riot Club, Oxford undergraduates headed for a life of power and influence thanks primarily to wealth, titles and family connections.

First seen at the Royal Court in 2010 and now making a welcome transition to the West End, Laura Wade’s wickedly funny and politically updated satire of a debauched evening’s wining and dining among the privately educated, elite doesn’t hold back in portraying the ridiculous rituals of these overgrown schoolboys – or their obnoxious belief that money can buy them out of trouble.

With their callous attitudes to the less financially fortunate - only the club’s president ( Tim Mison) shows a modicum of sensibility – they’re out to trash and get smashed in a manner more than a little reminiscent of the Bullingdon Club which boasts David Cameron among its former members.

It all makes for an extremely entertaining evening, with strong performances all round in Lyndsey Turner’s partially recast production and particularly memorable work from Max Bennett’s misogynist Harry (fresh from a fencing victory and a blow job), Richard Goulding’s titled George, Leo Bill’s Alistair ranting against the lower classes, and Steffan Rhodri as the unfortunate landlord of the rural gastropub who’s been led to believe he’s playing host to a group of young entrepreneurs.

Duke of York’s, St Martin’s Lane, WC2N 4BG
Tube: Charing Cross / Leicester Square
Until 4th August | £15 - £52.50
poshtheplay.com

Image via Johan Persson