Alfred Kopf is a man determined to make it to the top, and believes firmly that the old ways are best: violence, blackmail and media manipulation. Alistair McGowan's central character is a disarmingly self-conscious, soliloquising bastard in the mould of Richard III. The crass portrayals of press people belie the cogency of the play's preoccupations – the media's annexation by the power-hungry in and out of government. None of the laughs are gratuitous, and the final impression is of lightness disguising considerable bite, rather like a tin of Diet Irn Bru.
Written for The Independent.
Copyright © Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.
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