The Menier Chocolate Factory poster
Only two months after Betrayal had ended, Samuel West was back in the theatrical headlines again with his revival of a Patrick Marber play called Dealer's Choice. This time at the Menier Chocolate Factory, within walking distance of the historic Southwark Cathedral. My first challenge however when I went to see this show was to find the entrance. Unbeknown to me this was only possible once you went through its restuarant and along a corridor at the back of the building which was a bit odd. There in quite intimate settings the box office, bar and auditorium were finally reached. Phew!
Only two months after Betrayal had ended, Samuel West was back in the theatrical headlines again with his revival of a Patrick Marber play called Dealer's Choice. This time at the Menier Chocolate Factory, within walking distance of the historic Southwark Cathedral. My first challenge however when I went to see this show was to find the entrance. Unbeknown to me this was only possible once you went through its restuarant and along a corridor at the back of the building which was a bit odd. There in quite intimate settings the box office, bar and auditorium were finally reached. Phew!
When I obtained my ticket and had found a nearby bench to plonk myself down on, I became aware of a very strange noise emanating from the autitorium. Over and over it played before ceasing abruptly and there instead at the door stood Sam clutching his notepad. Aha! I thought, realising that he must of been having last minute sound checks. Before long the audience were ushered in to their seats which were more like padded benches. I found a place to sit and the show began a few minutes later. I found Dealer's Choice to be very cleverly written and almost double that with the direction. Sam did an excellent job. It was both an extremely amusing play with lots of emotional outbursts of one sort or another. It made me laugh many times as well as feel pity for some of the characters. I went back to see it a few more times and even dragged a friend along with me once because it was that good.
A couple of months later Sam West transfered his production of Dealer's Choice to the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall. This was a great turn of events.
The Trafalgar Studios poster
The setting had changed and the stage somehow looked smaller, but the magic of this terrific play was not lost due to the amazing cast who made all this possible. I went to see the play a couple more times, once this included a Q&A given by the company and Sam himself. I was really pleased that my question (which was heavily edited by the whatsonstage hosts) was asked. It was very entertaining but like all things in this world...it ended way too soon. I am so glad that Dealer's Choice got nominated a few times with various theatre awards. It was well deserved that's for sure.
Posts
