Theatre Review: Dad's Money

Published on Monday 18 August 2008 09:16

DAD'S MONEY **** THE PLEASANCE DOME (VENUE 23)

DAD'S dead and brothers Joe and Tom aren't waiting around for the reading of the will in this excellent comedy. They're rooting around in the basement looking for hoarded cash. All they've found is a DVD of Goldfinger that they're squabbling over like kids. Tom wants the money because dad died in his arms while Joe is simply as greedy as his sibling. Then the door to the basement slams shut, the rain gets heavier and the water starts to rise …

Joe and Tom may be deeply unpleasant to one another but it's pure pleasure to spend an hour in their company due to writer-director Richard Marsh's tight script. Dad's Money is bristling with fresh, funny lines you'll be quoting for months. "Tom, Tom – you're avoiding me Tom," Joe drawls in an utterly convincing Somerset accent.

"We're trapped in a box filled with water!" he retorts. "How could I possibly avoid you?"

It may not seem hilarious on the printed page, but the actors transform it into comedy gold. Martin Miller plays Joe as a gently annoying – yet somehow likeable – overfed country bumpkin. He's such a talented actor, equipped with a versatile range of comic expressions, that he could easily steal the whole play. However, JJ Wright's aggressively tenacious Tom proves the perfect foil with his barking delivery.

Marsh structures his script expertly so that it becomes faster and funnier as the basement fills with water and the brothers' panic level rises. Will Joe and Tom escape their watery doom. You'll have to see the play to find out. You'll be very glad you did.

Until 25 August. Today 1:40pm