The wild, wild west London is daringly put on display in Rory Mullarkey’s ‘Mates in Chelsea’. Hilarious blows are taken at the ignorance of the stereotypical Chelsea dweller, leading to a less than subtle question of politics raised by the self-professed socialist Rory Mullarkey. Amidst these jabs at the aristocracy and upper classes, with the protagonist a viscount himself, comes a hilariously gripping story with twists and about every unlikely and surprising turn of events imaginable. What starts as a farcical satire loosely and not unintentionally connected to ‘Made in Chelsea’ becomes a fiery drama, quite literally!

With a somewhat lifeless body on stage upon arrival, the audience are left puzzled as to where this will go when, at the beginning of the play, the Soviet national anthem bellows throughout the theatre and the figure is met with another sharpening a knife rather aggressively, they exchange a look and depart. The tension is cut upon arrival of the protagonist Viscount Theodore ‘Tug’ Bungay, when we realise the Soviet revolutionist is Mrs Hanratty (Amy Booth-Steel), Tug’s housekeeper sharpening her cake knife. This is our first introduction to the satire of the play that is definitely not lacking. The story develops with the introduction of Tug’s friend Charlton Thrupp (George Fouracres) – possibly the perfect mix of hilarious writing and sublime delivery from both writer and actor. Both anxiously await the arrival of Tug’s mother Lady Agrippina (Fenella Woolgar), who delivers him the news she must sell their castle “far up north” to a Russian Oligarch, much to his dismay. This evolves into a second act and with an embarrassment of Russian Oligarch impersonations from Tug and Charlton in attempts to blow the deal and from Finty Crossbell (Natalie Dew), Tu’s fiancé set on letting the castle go in hopes he would finally marry her. When met with the actual Oligarch fleeing from Russia (Phillip Mogilnitskiy), mayhem ensues resulting in death, despair, a secret elopement from Lady Agrippina and her French accountant Simone Montesquieu (Karina Fernandez). With an impressive pyrotechnic display the castle most literally does go up in flames, leaving Tug left to repair his relationships with those closest to him but ultimately alone singing an eery yet beautiful rendition of the song that opened the show.

Rory Mullarkey, a fan of Made in Chelsea, provides scarily accurate highlights of humour hidden ignorance from his characters. Mrs Hanratty is used as a relatable device for the audience to bring the larger than life characters back to reality in a truthful yet hilarious way. A rememberable example of Mullarkey’s genius in doing so would be when describing Charlton dressed in cashmere robes to “blend in with the locals” from his recent trip to Afghanistan, Mrs Hanratty likens him to a “politically insensitive production of Aladdin”.

Sam Pritchard directs the solid cast delightfully. With virtually zero downtime, the audience were able to feast their eyes upon something like a badminton match between Lady Agrippina and her soon to be discovered lover during the interval. The set appeared to be something out of an elegant cartoon, with a towering castle made of cake being the centrepiece of much drama and suspense.

Laurie Kynaston’s provided a light, jazzy flare to the role with a soft voice and well intentioned but seemingly accidentall funny quirks. Amy Booth-Steel’s bluntness, sarcasm and wit fell perfectly within the world of hyperbole and snobbery. Fenella Woolgar was astoundingly convincing as were the strong cast as a whole. A standout however, was no doubt George Fouracres with his wildly hilarious delivery and mellifluous accent, truly something to behold.

Much like the play’s inspiration, ‘Mates in Chelsea’ Proves to a be a thoroughly enjoyable watch.