Dealer's Choice

Synopsis

By day Mugsy, Frankie, Sweeney, their boss Stephen and his son Carl work together in a swanky restaurant. The banter flows and the jokes come thick and fast - but after the last bill is paid, the pressure's on. Down in the basement their weekly poker school is no laughing matter. Originally performed at the Royal National Theatre in 1995, Dealer's Choice was considered to be an outstanding debut and it went on to win the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy and the Writer's Guild Award for Best Play. Contains scenes and language that may offend.

Our Review:

12 December 2007

Samuel West’s brilliant revival of Patrick Marber’s poker play Dealer's Choice has now moved from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the larger of the Trafalgar Studios and has, if anything, improved as a result.

I am no great fan of this auditorium (where there is no great fan), but it suits play and production to perfection here. You can look right down the throat of the play, right into the restaurant, where Malcolm Sinclair as the owner is sitting at a table fiddling with paperwork. Behind him, in the inner kitchen, the chefs are chopping away against a reflective, gleaming back wall.

The Menier cast is intact: Sinclair as Stephen with Samuel Barnett as his debt-ridden son; Roger Lloyd Pack as the silent professional who has come to collect; Stephen Wight as the winning loser Mugsy (now an award-winning loser Mugsy, having been named Outstanding Newcomer by the Evening Standard); Jay Simpson and [Ross Boat...

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Latest User Review

Paul Wallis - 13 March 2008:

Tonight I was lucky enough to see this production for the 3rd time and what a treat it was again. I feel truly privileged to have had the chance to see this play again. It is superbly written, the characters are wonderfully drawn, the staging is superb and the acting is without exception brilliant. If you've not seen it yet, go while you still have a chance. ...

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