Premiering in June 1939, Terence Rattigan's After The Dance follows the decadent married lives of David and Joan Scott-Fowler in their Mayfair penthouse apartment.  David's work as a successful writer has allowed them both to enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle with their frivolous friends for over a decade.  It has even allowed David's old school friend John, and younger cousin, Peter, to live with them. 

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However, the equilibrium is shattered on the arrival of Peter's sweetheart, Helen Banner, who is determined to make David sober up, start again, and become a hard-working member of society.  The stage is set for betrayal, unrequited love, and a challenge to the shallow lives of the elite.

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This beautifully written, serious yet satirical view of society's former “Bright Young Things" was impeded by the outbreak of World War II and only amounted to sixty performances at St James's Theatre. The play was largely disregarded until it was staged at the National Theatre in 2010 (with Benedict Cumberbatch playing David Scott-Fowler) to commercial and critical acclaim.

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