After the Dance

Rattigan's attack on the moral vacuity of the 'bright young things' of the twenties and thirties, written between French Without Tears and The Deep Blue Sea

Set in the luxurious Mayfair apartment of David Scott-Fowler, a wealthy man who dabbles in writing a history book that even if he ever finishes nobody will want to read

The drama focuses on the contrast between a set of early-middle-aged people who have been partying hard since the 1920s and a more serious younger generation who are concerned about the future

Having been told that if he doesnt stop drinking he will die very soon, David tries to move away from the bibulous lifestyle of his wife Joan, his permanent house guest John and their hedonistic friends, as he reciprocates the love offered by the nave but assertive Helen, fiance to his earnestly impecunious cousin and secretary Peter

As two decades of peace draw to a close, the party seems about to end with a bang with champagne corks giving way to gun shots.

REVIEWS

"One of the supreme dramatists of the 20th century" ~ Guardian

" ... a harrowing critique of a period of heedless frivolity and a dazzling reminder of the strengths of Rattigan's writing" ~ Evening Standard

" ... a great and wonderful revelation ... combines superb social comedy with shafts of powerful emotion" ~ Telegraph