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When noble heroine Miss Phoebe Virtue receives worrisome news on Instagram that her twin brother Jack may be endangering his reputation in London Town, she decides she must visit herself, and investigate...
Set in contemporary, post-pandemic London, full of illicit sex, political hypocrisy and the machinations of a fame-hungry elite, Scandaltown is a comedy for the new Restoration of the theatres.
Mike Bartlett's play was first produced by the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, in association with Fictional Company, at the Lyric in April 2022, directed by Artistic Director Rachel O'Riordan.
"[Mike Bartlett] is one of the prime movers in a new golden generation of British playwrights." —Independent
"A rambunctious, modern-day Restoration comedy... a springtime pantomime with knowing humour, smut, silliness and arch references to the hypocrisies of the state... joyfully silly stuff." —Guardian
"Laugh-out-loud funny... the mashup of Restoration cadences and modern argot is spot on." —Evening Standard
"Extremely funny... Bartlett's writing is always clever and lively, and he hits his targets." —WhatsOnStage
"A lot of fun... Bartlett has a knack for verse, and turns out Restoration-inspired insults for his characters to chuck at each other... really smart... full of nice gags." —Time Out
"A cheeky, boisterous contemporary comedy of manners... Scandaltown is big... Bartlett puts hypocrisy and fictitiousness on display, gorging on the shock still carried by immorality today... filled to the brim with one-liners and throwaway wit." —Broadway World
Mike Bartlett is a multi-award-winning writer for both stage and screen. His theatre work includes: Juniper Blood (Donmar Warehouse, 2025); Unicorn (West End, 2025); The 47th (Old Vic, London, 2022); Game (Almeida, 2015); King Charles III (Almeida Theatre and West End, 2014); An Intervention (Paines Plough/Watford, 2014); Chariots of Fire (Hampstead Theatre, 2012); 13 (National Theatre, London, 2011); Earthquakes in London (Headlong and National Theatre, 2010); Love, Love, Love (Paines Plough and Plymouth Theatre Royal, 2010); Cock (Royal Court, 2009; West End, 2022); Artefacts (Bush Theatre and Nabokov, 2008); and My Child (Royal Court, 2007). For television, he’s worked on: Life, Doctor Foster, King Charles III, Sticks and Stones, Trauma, and Press.