Back in 2010, when David Cameron confirmed the appointments to his first austerity cabinet, it was widely revealed that 23 of the 29 were millionaires.

And a 2011 BBC documentary showed that more than half the cabinet – including Prime Minister David Cameron, deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Chancellor Of The Exchequer George Osborne – as well as a third of all MPs attended fee-paying schools, compared with 7% of the country.

Decades on from the Cambridge Spies scandal, which rocked the establishment in the 1940s and 1950s, it is proof the moneyed elite still runs this country.

And frequently the skills they learn are acquired from public school – which forms part of Julian Mitchell’s 1981 play.

Set in an unnamed 1930s public school, Another Country investigates how the young privileged elite could turn traitor, taking inspiration from the story of Guy Burgess.

Burgess was an Eton-educated Foreign Office official, who passed secrets to the Soviets before and during the Cold War as part of the Cambridge Five spy ring – eventually defecting to Moscow in 1951.

At the heart of Mitchell’s story are two outsiders, Tommy Judd, a committed Marxist, and Guy Bennett, inspired by Burgess, who is coming to terms with his homosexuality.

“Bennett can enjoy the privileges of his education and class – it is only when he falls in love he realises all of that is denied to him,” says director Jeremy Herrin.

“That is where he starts the process of betraying his country, as a reaction to the hypocrisy encouraged in English public schools.

“It is no surprise that in the 1930s, when the world was in turmoil, some of the English middle classes turned traitor.”

Another Country sees Herrin return to a school setting at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre, having directed David Hare’s one-act play South Downs in 2011. Created in response to Terrence Rattigan’s The Browning Version, to mark the Brighton-based playwright’s centenary year, South Downs later transferred to the West End.

“Chichester is always a great place to work,” says Herrin, who in June replaced Rupert Goold as artistic director of Headlong Theatre.

“It’s good to go back to school and it’s always exciting working with a young cast who have so much energy and positivity.”

Another Country has an impressive pedigree – the lead role of Bennett has previously been played by Rupert Everett and Daniel Day Lewis, while the young Communist Judd was portrayed first by Kenneth Branagh and later by Colin Firth.

In the future, that role of honour could include this production’s Will Attenborough and Rob Callender.

“When they were in Another Country, Everett, Branagh and Day Lewis weren’t the names they are now – they were just the best young actors around at that point,” says Herrin.

“That’s the exciting thing as a director – it’s a different energy than trying to persuade stars to do your project. I have worked with lovely well-known actors but it’s great to meet new, young, talented people who are desperate to show their best.”

Herrin has strong memories of seeing the play and the 1984 film.

“I’ve always loved it,” he says. “It plays like a comedy – it is very funny.

“But what it says about English society, class, hypocrisy and how our true natures aren’t necessarily accepted by the establishment is as relevant today as it was both in the 1980s and the 1930s.

“All you have to do is look at the make-up of the current Cabinet to see that the public school ethos is very much in the ascendant. It makes you wonder what levels of hypocrisy remain in the British establishment and how that affects everybody’s lives.”

He can certainly see a link with his last stage project – the political drama This House, which returned to London’s National Theatre earlier this year.

“The House of Commons is like an extended common room,” he says. “There is politics everywhere you look. The appointment of prefects is not unlike choosing the Chief Whip or who is going to run the Department Of Social Security. There are the same sort of tricks, passions and double bluffs.”

Another Country is currently previewing in Bath before moving on to Chichester next week.

But Herrin only has a couple of weeks before he embarks on an even grander project with the Royal Shakespeare Company – to stage Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies.

“I have wanted to do some event theatre for a while – where people can go and see two shows with dinner in between,” he says.

“It turns it into a real event and special occasion. The books are so good, I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

The books are being adapted by Mike Poulton, with Mantel involved at every stage.

“It is daunting,” admits Herrin. “I’ve always been one for jumping in with both feet and seeing what happens. I’m aware how lucky I am to have these opportunities.”

Similarly, he is excited about taking on Headlong Theatre, which under Goold established itself as one of the top companies in the country with their productions of Enron, Salome and Pete Postlethwaite’s stunning turn as King Lear.

“Rupert is shorter than me, so filling his shoes isn’t a problem,” jokes Herrin. “He’s a really talented bloke who did a great job with Headlong.

“I’m looking forward to keeping up that good work and announcing the next plays later in the autumn. We would love to bring them to Brighton and Chichester – we are in lots of conversations at the moment.”