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The Ruling Class Tickets

Trafalgar TheatreLondon

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BAFTA winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy (Filth, The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, X-Men) returns to Trafalgar Transformed, following his performance in Jamie Lloyd's Macbeth, which launched the first Trafalgar Transformed season  and earned him an Olivier award nomination for Best Actor, and for the production a nomination for Best Revival. McAvoy will play Jack, the 14th Earl of Gurney, in the first revival of Peter Barnes’ satirical comedy, The Ruling Class, directed by Artistic Director, Jamie Lloyd. The production runs from 16 January to 11 April 2015, with press night on 27 January.

Jack, a possible paranoid schizophrenic with a Messiah complex, inherits the title of the 14th Earl of Gurney after his father passes away in a bizarre accident. Singularly unsuited to a life in the upper echelons of elite society, Jack finds himself at the centre of a ruthless power struggle as his scheming family strives to uphold their reputation. 

Bubbling with wit and a feverish energy, Olivier Award-winning and Oscar-nominated writer Peter Barnes’ razor-sharp satire combines a ferocious mix of hilarity and horror whilst mercilessly exposing the foibles of the English nobility. 

The Ruling Class premiered in 1968 at Nottingham Playhouse and promptly transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End where it won the Evening Standard Award for Best Drama in 1969. This black and caustic class comedy was then made into a movie in 1972 starring Peter O’Toole.