Too Much Money Proven to be Bad For You!

The Syndicate

Theatre Severn

Tuesday 18th-Saturday 22nd June

(Matinees Wednesday and Saturday)

This play is such fun. A down on the luck group of shopworkers win the Lottery; it’s a big win, £24,000,000 to be exact and it is to be split five ways. In this cautionary tale we learn one has to be careful what you wish for as it might just come true. The money sorted out nobody’s problems with the exception of one who just loves her dogs, however even her partner leaves her. The play looks at need, greed, and want.This could well happen to any of us if we find ourselves in this rather unique position of winning millions..

The ephemera bought by the win did nothing to paper over the cracks of their very real lives and each of the cast are affected by the win quite badly. Proving money doesn’t solve everything, even though sometimes we might think it might. Many of us wish it would, but this play by the late Kaye Mellor, shows that once the delight of their superficial riches wears off, we see a bunch of foibled and in some cases troubled lives with worries that money won’t fix.

Brooke Vincent (Corrie’s Sophie Webster) was great. She found great comic timing and her characterisation was absolutely spot on. As were the rest of the cast also. It is a great yarn well presented, well framed and beautifully acted. The characters were so well drawn and excellently portrayed by this cast of television stalwarts. There are many recognisable faces from the small screen and it seems to be quite the show to be a part of.

Being Stanislavskian in approach the fourth wall protocol was strictly adhered to with no funny asides to the audience. It is also essential in this form of theatre to make it as lifelike as possible hence the incredibly clever set design which doubled up as a shop and main house. But there were spaces for other scenes in other rooms like the Manager’s office in the shop and the changing room again in the shop. The design was clever and the scenery worked perfectly as it should.

Given the fact that this was a first night in a new town one was impressed at just how well the show fitted in. There were no clumsy lighting or sound cue fumbles and right from the off the show was technically perfect. The technical language of a show from design to execution is essential and can make or break a show. The technical language of this show is superb.

It’s a witty play and all laugh lines were well played and well timed. One almost feels this stage play is as good if not better than the four television series. There was an earthy reality that one loses from the T.V. Somehow the northern accents seemed to add to the very,  ‘normalness,’ of all the characters and one can feel a warmth in a northern accent which sadly one finds less of in Southern accents.( Maybe it was because this reviewer Manchester born and biased biased but one thinks not.)  There seems to be much less pretention, obviously there isn't but one feels it so. Brooke Vincent’s character Amy, however did grow a little pretentious as the new money stared to shape into something that she wasn’t. Great touch.

This reviewer can strongly recommend this one to you. It is fun, interesting, witty and well written. Perhaps the ending was mighty abrupt, but it worked. The cast have brought their A game to the county town and between them they make a nice little cast so in tune with each other theatre just happens. That’s marvellous. One suspected on the main a happy cast. However that is of course speculation, but there is such a nice feel to this show. Time flew and all too soon it was over. If you have a ticket then you are in for a treat if you don’t have a ticket all I can say is buy one!

This is a Five Star Review

Sofia Lewis