Review: ‘Posh’ performed by WUDS

Posh offers a look into the world of the Riot Club – an Oxford University dining club attended exclusively by the delusional sons of a failing aristocracy, who spend their evening exhibiting their vast wealth while bemoaning the ways in which the rise of a self-employed, self-confident middle class impinges upon the near-sacrosanct traditions of ‘the club’.

the characters played by women are still easily able to hold their own within the overtly sexualised, misogynistic atmosphere of the club

WUDS’ production made the decision to perform the play gender-blind, using some female actors to play roles within the all-male Riot Club to highlight the (mostly abhorrent) personalities of its members rather than make any distinct political comment. While this take on the play was largely successful, as the characters played by women are still easily able to hold their own within the overtly sexualised, misogynistic atmosphere of the club, it would have been interesting to see it taken further. Many of the differently-gendered roles were somewhat predictable, with the more mild-mannered characters of James Leighton-Masters (Georgia Wedge) and Guy Bellingfield (Louise Fox) being played by women, while the roles of the violently sexist Harry Villiers (Craig Nannestad) or the domineering Alistair Ryle (Joe Taylor) still being portrayed by men. The only time the gender-blind approach really failed, was in the male casting of Charlie, the prostitute hired by the club, which felt like a forced highlighting of the gender-blindness of the play at a point where the audience had already come to terms with it.

While the casting could have done more, this isn’t to say that anyone seems outmatched. In a play where the boundary between brotherhood and enmity is so thin, and some characters spend the majority of the play thinly veiling their disdain for others, the ability of some to effectively stand up to Ryle, who cements himself as one of the key players at the end of the first act with a chilling monologue which brings the play’s jovial nature crashing down around him, is very impressive. It’s in these stand-offs, especially those between members of the club and those outside it, where the play is at its best, pitting their greed and self-entitlement against the reality of the world they are being forced to be a part of.

a play where the boundary between brotherhood and enmity is so thin

Although superficially Posh is a very simple play, in which the obnoxiously rich are almost literally pitted against the hardworking everyman, the group dynamics are so successful that exactly whose side you’re on isn’t always clear, especially in those scenes where the club is left entirely to its own devices. A sense of entitlement obviously pervades, but the vague sense of unease that accompanies it is what makes Posh so successful.