ONE of the biggest scandals in British politics of the last century provides the basis for a play being staged at Kidderminster's the Rose Theatre.

A Letter of Resignation looks at the Profumo Affair from the perspective of then prime minister Harold Macmillan.

The play is set in Scotland in 1963, where Macmillan has escaped to a grouse shoot.

Gradually more people arrive on the scene as news spreads of government minister John Profumo's affair with Christine Keeler who was also sleeping with Eugene Ivanov, a naval attach at the Soviet Embassy

In March, 1963, Profumo lied in the House of Commons, saying there was "no impropriety whatsoever in my acquaintanceship with Miss Keeler".

Ten weeks later he admitted he had lied to MPs to protect his wife and family, and offered his resignation, which is where A Letter of Resignation picks up.

Although there is no historical evidence of any such letter being received by Macmillan, this forms the basis of play.

The theme of infidelity is carried on into Macmillan's own life with a flashback to the admission of his wife, Dorothy, of her own affair during the 20s and 30s and that one of their sons might not be his.

Following the Profumo Affair, Macmillan resigned due to ill health, and this play, by Hugh Whitemore, looks at what may have been going through the prime minister's mind at the time.

The cast of the production by The Rose's resident group the Nonentities includes Dennis Beasley as Macmillan, Lynn Ravenhill as Dorothy, Jamie Thompson as Ian Ritchie and Tim Williams as Oliver Widdowes.

A Letter of Resignation runs from Monday to Saturday, September 15 to 20. Tickets from £6 to £7.50 from the box office on 01562 743745.