Published in The Guardian
The Bookie
Cumbernauld Theatre
2 out of 5
Imagine if bookmakers let you place bets not just on horses, but on personal events that only you could know about. Such "happy bets" form the funny idea at the heart of Douglas Maxwell's new comedy musical, in which the manager of a small-town branch of Queen's International Gaming sends profits rocketing by accepting lifestyle wagers.
The dramatic stakes are raised when an addicted gambler dies and bequeaths a £10,000 happy bet to his niece, laying odds that true love will flourish in the godforsaken town by Valentine's Day. The chances are 50-to-1 against (it's a gloomy place), which means a win would bring down the faltering Queen's empire – an empire that happens to be run by the dead man's brother.
The scene is set for a fight between greed and romance, love and money, free-market capitalism and social cohesion. Faced by the moral distortions of a cash-driven world, the characters must work out their real values. Maxwell plays with themes of probability and chance, and concludes that "true love is a casino in your soul".
Throw in the guessing game about where love will emerge and the play has the potential to be an entertaining commentary on financial and emotional risk. If only it didn't seem so provisional. Ed Robson's touring production for the Cumbernauld Theatre is like watching the idea for a play, with characters, plot and themes sketched out in the roughest of terms. The relationships are implausible, the revelations clunky, and even the characters seem surprised at how often they end up in the same room as each other.
This feeling is exacerbated by the rock-based songs, written by Maxwell and Aly MacRae, which don't move the story forward as much as string it out. The result is an uneven evening, intermittently funny, but failing to hit its potential.
At the Lemon Tree, Aberdeen (01224 641122) on 22 September. Then touring.
© Mark Fisher 2010
More coverage at theatreSCOTLAND.com
Sign up for theatreSCOTLAND updates: http://groups.google.com/group/theatreSCOTLANDupdates
Sign up for theatreSCOTLAND discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/theatrescotland
The Bookie
Cumbernauld Theatre
2 out of 5
Imagine if bookmakers let you place bets not just on horses, but on personal events that only you could know about. Such "happy bets" form the funny idea at the heart of Douglas Maxwell's new comedy musical, in which the manager of a small-town branch of Queen's International Gaming sends profits rocketing by accepting lifestyle wagers.
The dramatic stakes are raised when an addicted gambler dies and bequeaths a £10,000 happy bet to his niece, laying odds that true love will flourish in the godforsaken town by Valentine's Day. The chances are 50-to-1 against (it's a gloomy place), which means a win would bring down the faltering Queen's empire – an empire that happens to be run by the dead man's brother.
The scene is set for a fight between greed and romance, love and money, free-market capitalism and social cohesion. Faced by the moral distortions of a cash-driven world, the characters must work out their real values. Maxwell plays with themes of probability and chance, and concludes that "true love is a casino in your soul".
Throw in the guessing game about where love will emerge and the play has the potential to be an entertaining commentary on financial and emotional risk. If only it didn't seem so provisional. Ed Robson's touring production for the Cumbernauld Theatre is like watching the idea for a play, with characters, plot and themes sketched out in the roughest of terms. The relationships are implausible, the revelations clunky, and even the characters seem surprised at how often they end up in the same room as each other.
This feeling is exacerbated by the rock-based songs, written by Maxwell and Aly MacRae, which don't move the story forward as much as string it out. The result is an uneven evening, intermittently funny, but failing to hit its potential.
At the Lemon Tree, Aberdeen (01224 641122) on 22 September. Then touring.
© Mark Fisher 2010
More coverage at theatreSCOTLAND.com
Sign up for theatreSCOTLAND updates: http://groups.google.com/group/theatreSCOTLANDupdates
Sign up for theatreSCOTLAND discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/theatrescotland
No comments:
Post a Comment