Arty Froushan in American Psycho [Marc Brenner]

RUPERT Goold’s directorial swansong at the Almeida is a revival of Duncan Sheik and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s musical American Psycho, based on Bret Easton Ellis’s novel. The show opened his tenure at the theatre in 2013.

Twenty-six-year-old Patrick Bateman (Arty Froushan) appears to have it all – he’s rich, handsome, and impeccably turned out. He opens the play by flaunting his knowledge of designer labels. But when he fails to secure the prestigious Fischer account for his investment bank, Patrick begins to unravel.

This searing yuppie satire is set in the late-1980s, against the backdrop of Wall Street’s obsession with wealth, excess and consumerism. Unsurprisingly, Patrick idolises Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal.
He’s engaged to the beautiful but brittle Evelyn Williams (Emily Barber), though their relationship is emotionally hollow, and Bateman is frequently unfaithful.

Resentful at work, he ignores his loyal secretary Jean (Anastasia Martin), the only character with a moral compass, and increasingly paranoid around his peers – particularly his rival Paul Owen (Daniel Bravo) – Patrick starts acting out his violent fantasies.

Goold’s production is intoxicatingly good. Aguirre-Sacasa’s book is whip-smart, and Duncan Sheik’s electronic score, interspersed with 1980s covers from the likes of Phil Collins and Tears for Fears, smoothly evokes the era.

Magnetic performances and a super-slick ensemble convey the feverish pursuit of perfection – in several numbers they resemble beautiful zombies, with impossibly flawless skin and sculpted bodies – brilliantly choreographed by Lynne Page.

It’s a nightmarish world, but it’s easy to draw a direct line between then and today’s consumerism, narcissistic fixation on appearance and status, and relentless self-promotion.

Worth queuing for returns.

Until March 21
almeida.co.uk/