Posh
To the common eye, the scene laid out in the Old Fitz Theatre (designed by Soham Apte) may appear lavish: a long oak table prepared for a feast; walls of wooden panelling and patterned green wallpaper; gilded portraits of dead aristocrats; an icy chandelier glittering above it all. But to the Oxford boys of the Riot Club, this private dining room of a regional gastro pub is a humiliating exile. Not only that – staffed by a father and daughter who aren’t educated in the natural, money-greased rules of subordination to their ‘betters’ – it’s an existential threat.
The ten members of this exclusive club were banished here, on the outskirts of London, to host their next dinner (a quarterly custom) after one of them breached the strict pact of absolute secrecy. Once open and proud, their bizarre rituals of excess must now keep to the shadows. Gone are the days of legendary mayhem and glorious carnage without consequence; when their promised inheritance of seats of national power was iron-clad. (Or are they?)
As entertaining as it is savage...
A dark comedy turned social horror over two acts penned by UK playwright Laura Wade in 2014, Posh is a study into how the “good old boys” have survived society’s staggered lunges towards equality over the last century. Inspired by real-life events, we see two generations conspiring to uphold the obscene traditions of class entitlement, patriarchal privilege, and their cashed-up “right” to do whatever they want. Director Margaret Thanos...