It flows into deliciously murky whirlpools of words
A mis-spent youth very often ends with a life in the revolving door of prison and unsuccessfully trying to stay out of jail. You do hear of the genius snooker players and footballers boasting of their time not in school but they are rare. Writer Patrick Marber admits: ‘the whole of my second year at Oxford I was in this Soho casino and became something of an addict’. It was a regular poker game in Archway that became the germ of Dealer’s Choice, writes Michael Holland.
This is the 30th anniversary of his play which brings together six men who all believe they are the better poker player, and all have a need to win: put down a deposit on a new restaurant; pay for a holiday, pay off debts, take the family out or keep a son happy. And they are all addicted to the point where nothing else matters except the game.
Every Sunday, Stephen and his staff at the restaurant play poker long into the night after they close up. As they prep for Sunday service we hear chef Sweeney banter with Mugsy and Frankie about their wins and losses in the last game and how they will win big tonight. In the office is Stephen updating his ledgers. Carl, his son, visits and everyone holds their hand out for the money he owes them.
We are dealt information that tells us this is not really a friendly game between work mates. Big money is lost that they can’t really afford to lose; amounts that keep the players chasing those losses and falling deeper and deeper into the darkness. We see the signs of their addiction, when the game has gone past being fun.
As they get nearer closing time an awkward customer, Ash, hangs about, keeping Mugsy and the other staff away from their game. He too is waiting for Carl to pay his debts so he can go and pay his.
At the interval we tried to predict the outcome: who would win, who would lose? We were wrong on all counts. We never predicted the ending just like Mugsy never predicted the only card that could lose him the game coming up and snatching away victory in a previous game…
The verbals around the table in Dealer’s Choice is perfect, it flows into deliciously murky whirlpools of words. The jibes and jokes that come with the game are real because Marber lived that life; he knows it, he has seen every trick that can be pulled, seen every ‘lucky’ shirt worn by no-hopers, and watched every bad loser fall out with friends. As Sweeney says goodbye to his last pound – as well as the money for the family day out – he leaves angry – ‘Sloshing around in a sea of self-pity’, says Stephen.
Yes, Dealer’s Choice is about addiction and how it ruins lives, but in this game we also witness love bought and sold, dreams shattered and nobody finding happiness.
The cast, Alfie Allen, Hammed Animashaun, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Brendan Coyle, Kasper Hilton-Hille and Daniel Lapaine play this like they’ve been touring it for months. Their rehearsed naturalness was spot on, so top marks to director Matthew Dunster for drawing it out of them.
Stand out performance must be Hammed Animashaun as Mugsy, a young man with aspirations and ideas that need financial backing, but every time he has enough to get started he joins a game of poker…
Marber’s acclaimed first play won The Evening Standard Award (Best Comedy) and the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award (Best West End Play) in 1995. I don’t see why it can’t win awards in its 30th year.
Donmar Warehouse, 41 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, London WC2H 9LX until June 7th. Mon – Sat 7.30pm
Thursday & Saturday matinees 2.30pm. Admission: £25 – £70.
Booking and full details: www.donmarwarehouse.com / 020 3282 3808
