AN EXCLUSIVE dining club of Oxford toffs intent on enjoying a night of 'debauchery, decadence and bloody good wine'. Ring any bells?
Laura Wade's Posh is bound to draw comparisons with the notorious Bullingdon Club, the scourge of restaurateurs in the university town, whose former members David Cameron and George Osborne could soon be running the country.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was also a member.
The play's timing - a seven-week run begins at the Royal Court tonight (Friday), a month before the general election - makes the connection all the more unavoidable.
But Leo Bill, who plays the quiet but fiercely intelligent Alistair Ryle, insists anyone expecting a bunch of Dave and Boris impressions will go home disappointed.
"Because of the timing, the Bullingdon references are obviously going to be made, but it's not massively helpful to concentrate on that because we've created our own world, with its own set of rules," he said.
"No one's going to suddenly appear in a floppy blonde wig, umming and ahhing like Boris Johnson."
Posh follows members of the fictional Riot Club as they debate how to restore their 'right to rule' during the course of an increasingly drunken evening.
The 10-strong cast, who are on stage together throughout almost the entire play, may not have modelled their mannerisms on Boris and co, but they did go on a mission to Oxford to learn a bit about being posh.
"We went on a school trip there," said Leo. "We met a lot of people and went to a union debate and some formal dinners.
"I've never been to Oxford before but it does smell of privilege. Although I like to think not everyone there is posh, just being surrounded by those incredible buildings does seem to breed something in people.
"I grew up in Leamington Spa, where there's a bit of a divide between the middle and upper-middle classes and the working classes, but this elite world of incredible privilege is something I had to explore for the first time for this play.
"I came back from rehearsals one day and my girlfriend said 'What's up? You're speaking so posh'."
