Skip to main content

Dealer's Choice review

Dealer's Choice was the first play written by Patrick Marber, debuting in 1995. The play subsequently garnered much acclaim among critics, winning various accolades and receiving numerous revivals across the globe. Now, at the Donmar Warehouse, it returns for a 30th anniversary production directed by Mathew Dunster. 

You are first struck by the incredibly chic staging: a modern and minimal kitchen, downstage (the dining area) sits a single table with two chairs - mid-century in style. A very subtle but effective use of lighting and sound design, helps to designate the front of house and the back of house throughout the first act.

I found it took a minute for the play to warm up, and for the dialogue to feel natural. The whole ensemble cast are actually rather phenomenal, but seem to lack chemistry with each other, and a natural cadence. I saw an early preview, and I believe as the run continues the cast will find their footing. 

Alfie Allen plays Frankie, a waiter with an implied dependance on alcohol. Despite being the name at the top of the ticket, Allen takes backseat more than anyone, a relative rarity compared to the star-led productions we have come to know. Hammed Animashaun plays Mugsy, the de facto comic relief of Dealer's Choice. He is a charismatic performer, and will no doubt be an audience favourite. He brings a real energy to the Donmar's stage. 

Theo Barklem-Biggs plays a somewhat scary chef, in Sweeney, whose decision making is often torn between his gambling addition and a genuine love for his daughter. Brendan Coyle (Ash) and Daniel Lapaine (Stephen) have this real intrinsic stage presence. The young Kasper Hilton-Hille plays Carl, the son of restaurant-owner Stephen. Hilton-Hille gets to explore a strained, authentic relationship with on-stage father; he is certainly one to watch going forward.  

Dealer's Choice is funny, but it struggles to decide whether to be a chaotic comedy or a poignant drama. When combined with the limitations of a stage play, the play does not quite manage to explore its themes fully. The play examines the different ways in which addiction may complicate lives, but the struggle is almost always implied, rather than seen directly. 

Post-interval, the set again has a chance to assert its dominance. Four chains lift the entire stage up, dramatically revealing a large round table. Under dark lighting and loud music the cast take their seats, ready to engage in their long evening of gambling. "Dealer's Choice" is projected on the wall, almost as if to signal we have finally got past the preamble, and now are on to the actual meat of the play. The whole sequence however is magnificent, and has an air of a "heist movie montage" to it. 

This second half consists entirely of the conversations and drama occurring over the course of various high-stakes card games. It is in many ways intense, exploring the communication breakdowns between friends, colleagues, father and son. As their evening continues, it is interesting to see who chooses to take an early exit, vs those who must see the night through at all costs. 

This production of Dealer's Choice has numerous great elements, but the source material seems to lack clarity in conveying a cohesive message. Perhaps I needed to work harder to fully understand Marber's intentions, but if good theatre is supposed to make you feel something, I am afraid I found myself leaving somewhat underwhelmed. ★★★☆☆









Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Not Your Life review

Not Your Life follows Jacob (Yalim Danisman), who returns from war to find that his best-friend (Rian Cash) and his best-friends' wife (Lucy Clifton) have made a life for themselves in the house Jacob used to call home. What entails is an exploration of the jealousies and fractures within the trio, as they bubble to the surface after years of repression.  A story conceived by Yalim Danisman (writer and performer) and Ege Kucucuk (director), Not Your Life is performed at the Etcetera Theatre, a small but formidable pub theatre. The Etcetera is a successful catalyst for developing talent. Spaces like this are increasingly rare (the loss of Vault Festival, for example, still casts a shadow) and it is great to see venues providing a platform for up-and-coming talent. Not Your Life is an intimate and varied portrait of relationships, be it as friends, enemies or lovers. All the unfolding drama is against the backdrop of the residual trauma of warfare and childhood. Not Your Life also se...
Post a Comment
Read more

Giant review

Mark Rosenblatt's Giant is a meticulously devised, and thought provoking play. It follows Roald Dahl - with his publishing team in crisis - as they grapple with the implications of an anti-semitic article he wrote just prior to the release of The Witches. The article in question pertains to Dahl's views on Israel (and its people), which becomes a source of anger for both the general public, and those closest to him. It is in my view, an incredibly intelligent decision to parallel a messy, raw, interpersonal conflict of the past, with a current-day (or rather ongoing) geopolitical one. Rosenblatt manages to convey much of the complexity of the "Israel-Palestine debate" within a slice of life show.   Rosenblatt has managed to craft such a layered depiction of Dahl, even within such a short snapshot of his life. T he formidable John Lithgow brings this vision  to life with his characterisation of Dahl, oscillating between the childlike, the resentful, the passionate, the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tuck! review

An abstracted amalgam of comedy, sex and biological disgust, Tuck! (directed by Lou Bristow-Bell) describes itself as a "boun dary-pushing psycho-dream" play. An apt epithet. On this occasion, Tuck!  takes residence in the Baron's Court Theatre, nestling itself under the black painted brick arches of the pub cellar venue - a suitably unsettling setting.  The cast of Tuck! is exemplary. Of particular note are Jack Heffran and Samantha Begeman, who manage to effortlessly recreate the awkward flirting of a couple - in this scene the dialogue shines too. The comic timing and ability to enthral an audience that the entire cast possesses has to be commended.  The play's disturbing moments include: the description of a group ritualistically sucking the blood out of a used tampon, a woman achieving orgasm through being told by how petite she is, and the question "are you wet?" answered not with words - but by reaching between their legs and discovering copious amo...
Post a Comment
Read more