Theatre Reviews: Dealer's Choice; Scenes from a Repatriation
Gambling, theft, and the British Museum
Two quick notes before we begin:
First, a warm welcome (and a gentle warning) to any Emmy the Great fans joining us this week. This is mostly a London theatre newsletter, so antifolk content will be few and far between.
Second, both shows I saw this week were in previews, so assume they can only improve from here. Sadly, ticket prices will only get worse.
Dealer’s Choice - Donmar Warehouse
Patrick Marber - Writer
Matthew Dunster - Director
2 hours 10 minutes
On Tuesday I had a lovely post-walk stroll up to the Donmar Warehouse from Southwark. The weather was pleasingly mild and I arrived with enough time to order an ill-advised coffee and get some people watching in before the performance I had actually paid to watch began.
Dealer’s Choice started with a blast of 90s Brit Pop that jolted the audience into focus, and neatly positioned the plot in 1990s London. The cast strode onto the stage with all the swagger of a Guy Ritchie film, and I quickly knew I was in safe hands.
Patrick Marber’s first play, Dealer’s Choice, opened at the National Theatre in 1995 and featured a cast that was topped by Ray Winstone. The whole play takes place at a small restaurant on a Sunday night as the staff prepare for their weekly poker game. Compared to their salaries, the game is high stakes and while it allows the staff a moment of equality with their employer, the losses they rack up bring real consequences to their lives. The first half of the play is all build up and anticipation as the staff excitedly, and nervously, talk about that week’s impending game. There are fortunes to win and debts to be collected - it’s all fun and games until someone loses their shirt.
After the interval, the action moves to the basement and the poker game we have all been waiting for unfolds. Despite the transition coinciding with a break in the performance the creatives at the Donmar have opted for an incredibly ostentatious (and wildly unnecessary) scene change that only begins once the audience is back in their seats. It was very silly and I absolutely adored it.
In the first half, the play leans heavily towards the comedic, Hammed Animashaun in particular, as hapless waiter Mugsy, has the audience in the palm of his hands. Slowly the tone darkens as the sinister presence of Brendan Coyle’s mystery interloper means some of the players have a lot more to lose than usual. The play perfectly balances the light and shade as an evening of blowing off steam starts to boil over.
The play may be 30 years old but this production felt fresh, slick, and the themes of addiction and toxic masculinity haven’t dated at all. This is a solidly made production of a classic play, and some non-ludicrously priced tickets are still available. Why not take a gamble?
Seat: Circle, B38 - £50
I splashed out to be slightly closer to the stage that usual, but not enough to move from the cramped side of the circle. No issues with sightlines but I never know how to sit on the high seats they have installed there.
Show: ★★★★☆
Seat: ★★★★☆
Dealer’s Choice runs until 7th June 2025.
Scenes from a Repatriation - Royal Court, Upstairs
Written by By Joel Tan
Directed by emma + pj
2 hours 30 minutes
Saturday afternoon took me to Sloane Square to snake up the stairs and into the Upstairs Theatre. In the attic of the Royal Court, the floor was coated in sand, the seating arranged in three long rows along either side of the space, with the door to one end and a statue on a platform to the other.
This statue is an imagined Chinese treasure of contested origins. In the world of the play it was donated to the British Museum in the early 1900s where it had mostly been ignored and now overlooks the museum gift shop. Unlucky for the museum, the Chinese government have decided that they would prefer to have the statue on home soil and so a spiralling debate begins. For the most part, the production playfully tosses around ideas of colonialism, repatriation, and the shifting global statuses of both Britain and China.
There are few characters to follow throughout the play, instead the evening is made up of a collection of scenes following events related to the statue. The ensemble cast play a dizzying array of characters on both sides of the argument and some shift from English to American to Scottish accents, while others slip between English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. For the bulk of the evening these scenes tie together neatly as the concept of repatriation is debated and the British establishment is given a well deserved ribbing.
A scene that imagines the British Museum trying to “hold space for communities”, by holding an event titled British Museum Lates: China X complete with live performances, a DJ set, and merch stand, is an example of when this play works best. The satire rings painfully true, and the repatriation of stolen goods feels undeniable. As a playwright with a clear message, Joel Tan was making an irrefutable case.
By the interval I had been entertained, energised - and had even spotted one of Marvel’s Avengers in the audience. In the show’s second half, I will admit, I got a little lost. The focus of the play’s ire shifted from the British Museum to mainland China. In a flurry of scenes the show took on Chinese oligarchs, censorship in Hong Kong, human trafficking, and violent protest. While the first half built steadily to a clear theme, the latter half felt more scattered. Not helped by subtitled scenes that left me craning my neck to catch the translations.
It’s bold and brave new writing and that is what I go to the Royal Court for. It got me thinking and didn’t forget to keep me entertained in the process. I just wish I had understood both halves as much as each other. Well worth seeing despite my confusion.
Seat: Stalls, GA - £20
I sat at the front near the entrance, thinking myself clever as I had sat with an excellent view of the statue. Sadly some scenes took place above the door and that was the only place surtitles were projected. It left me with a sore neck and whipping my head back and forth to take in both the performance and translation. I’d suggest sitting as far back as you can with a good view of both the door and statue.
Show: ★★★☆☆
Seat: ★★★☆☆
Scenes from a Repatriation runs until 24th May 2025.