‘Excellent…Sharply observed… Peake is particularly good… bringing an intoxicating mix of brittle and ballsy’

Critics’ Choice

The Times

‘Peake excels as a woman with many secrets and facets’

Critics’ Choice

Sunday Times

‘Sexism in the workplace is placed under the spotlight… provocative’

Sunday Mirror

Renowned British actor Maxine Peake gives a powerhouse performance in Rules of the Game, a brand-new, four-part thriller which is currently on BBC One IPlayer . This sharply observed drama is now out on DVD and Digital courtesy of Acorn Media International.

Partly inspired by the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the subsequent #MeToo movement, Rules of the Game is a relevant and profound exploration of sexual politics in the modern workplace, penned by Ruth Fowler (Fairies Baseball) and from BAFTA-winning production company The Forge (National Treasure, Roadkill). 

Sam (Peake – The Theory of Everything, Shameless, Silk) is a strong-willed manager at a family-run business in the North-West of England. It’s business as usual – until she arrives in the office one day to find a dead body and is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths and murderous secrets, both past and present…

Her colleague Maya (Rakhee Thakrar – Sex Education, Four Weddings And A Funeral) the new HR director is intent on shaking up the outdated and toxic lad-culture and begins to look into historic cases of misconduct… but is faced with resistance from members of the team. 

Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacey, Life) plays Anita, a board member and hardened widower of the company’s narcissistic founder, and Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes, Truth Seekers) is DI Eve Preston, a thick-skinned, no-nonsense detective investigating a case linked to the company.

As the determined protagonists contend with institutional prejudices, one thing is clear: now is the time to change the Rules of the Game. 

This is a cracking series, which does take the first episode to settle into, as the show is filled with many dislikeable characters and some of them do take a little while to get used to.  Overall this four episode story is highly recommended even if its just for yet another fantastic performance by the always watchable Maxine Peake.