Dealer’s Choice, Trafalgar Studios, February 2008.
24 January, 2009
This early Patrick Marber play, first shown at the National, is about a restauranteur, his son and his staff, who play a regular game of poker on Friday nights. They are joined by a professional poker player, who needs money, but loses to the boss. The boss gives him the money anyway since his son owes it to him. What’s the point? I don’t know. It was well directed by Samuel West, and well acted. Ross Boatman was Sweeney, who wants to avoid playing, since he’s taking his young daughter out next morning, but ends up being a good sport and losing the money he needs for his daughter. Stephen Wright was Mugsy, the entertaining young fool who is full of words and mockery, Malcolm Sinclair was the boss, who pays his son to play, and Roger Lloyd Pack was Ash, the sad eyed professional poker player. Jay Simpson was Frankie the son, who seems to want to fail his father, and Samuel Barnett was Carl, a winner who wisely retreats after being clobbered by Ash. Perhaps the cleverest moment was when two shouted arguments were carried on simultaneously in Act I.
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