Following the recent sell-out tours of Do I Love You? and Perfect Pitch, the John Godber Company return to the New Vic with side-splitting new comedy Black Tie Ball from Monday 6 to Saturday 11 October.
By turns satirical and touching, Godber’s latest play Black Tie Ball is set on the glitziest night of the year, the event that everyone wishes to attend, from the great to the good. Full of razor-sharp social observations and told in his signature visceral style, this hilariously entertaining comedy follows the plight of harassed hotel staff as they recount an evening of drunken jealousies, divorces and affairs at breakneck speed.
The raffle is ready, the coffee is cold, the service is awful, the guest speaker is drunk and the hard-pressed caterers just want to go home…
Could this be the invitation of the year?
The cast of Black Tie Ball includes Dylan Allcock (The Highwayman; The Remarkable Tale of Dorothy Mackaill, John Godber Company) as Duncan; Jade Farnill (The Elves & The Shoemaker, Pocklington Arts Centre) as Joy; William Ilkley (War Horse; Trigger Point, John Godber Company) as Ronnie and Levi Payne (Love Hurts, New Vic; Teechers Leavers ’22, John Godber Company, Hull Truck Theatre) as Lewis.
Writer and director John Godber said: “I genuinely cannot wait to bring Black Tie Ball to the New Vic, I’m hopeful that the Stoke audiences will get it, and I’m convinced it’s as funny as anything I’ve ever written!”
Black Tie Ball runs at the New Vic from Monday 6 to Saturday 11 October 2025. For more information visit newvictheatre.org.uk.