‘Do we work in public relations? Because I’m starting to feel like I accidentally work in public relations.’
Private equity fund manager Rick has just thrown a lavish engagement party – the same week that his firm forced layoffs in a supermarket chain it owns, causing a PR nightmare.
His business partner Seth jumps to the rescue with a publicity-friendly investment that will save an American company and promote job growth.
But Jenny – the firm’s third partner – has other ideas. She wants maximum returns, no matter what the critics say…
Dry Powder is a razor-sharp comedy about the people who shape – and skew – the economy. It was first performed at the Public Theater, New York, before its UK premiere at Hampstead Theatre in 2018, starring Hayley Atwell, Aidan McArdle and Tom Riley.
‘Frighteningly funny… timely play’ Variety
‘Burgess writes smart dialogue that crackles’ Deadline
‘Pretty capital… refreshing and provocative’
— Daily Mail
‘Has a hint of early David Mamet in its ability to both critique the corporate ethos and spring narrative surprises… suggests there is something rotten in the state of contemporary capitalism’
— Guardian
‘A deliciously dark comedy… sharply provocative and dangerously funny’
— Broadway World
‘A slyly wicked comedy… it is barkingly funny, and has at its heart not some jejune fury at “fatcats” but a serious observation: it is about the distinction between the warm breath of business – creating objects, services, value – and the icy mathematical chill of those who finance it… pitiless mirth and Swiftian wit’
— TheatreCat
‘A coruscating satire that pokes fun at the private equity community, while barely covering its gleeful subtext about the joys of living in the United States while Donald Trump is in his presidential pomp… funny, savvy and deeply cynical’
— British Theatre Guide
‘Frighteningly funny… timely play’
— Variety
‘Burgess writes smart dialogue that crackles’
— Deadline
