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Funny
Money was first produced in 1994 at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. Set in the
modest suburban home of Jean and Henry Perkins, it relays the highly
improbable series of events that take place in one evening of the Perkins’
lives. Jean is preparing a birthday dinner for her mild-mannered husband
Henry with best friends Betty and Vic invited to join them. When good old
reliable and predictable Henry is uncharacteristically late home, Jean
becomes increasingly harassed. The situation is greatly worsened on his
eventual arrival when it becomes obvious Henry has experienced a
phenomenon which appears to have initiated a complete personality change,
demanding his wife immediately pack for a trip to
Barcelona. Upon interrogation it transpires Henry has inadvertently picked
up the wrong briefcase on the underground and is in possession of three
quarters of a million pounds.
By
the time he arrives home, he has formed a plan to emigrate much to his
wife’s bemusement. Before he can persuade Jean into action, two policemen
from independent sources plus friends Betty and Vic enter onto the scene
and the chaos begins. With hilarious innuendo and cruelly funny twists of
fate, the battle to keep the money begins but despite the four friends
best efforts, it’s local cheeky cabby Bill who finally saves the day.
Unquestionably the most difficult form of comedy to perform, farce
requires absolute precision timing, performed at breathtaking pace,
coupled with an ability to relate to the audience. These essential
elements must be achieved if the performance is to succeed and you rest
assured with Vicki Michelle and David Callister heading the cast, these
elements will be present as second nature. Their on stage chemistry and
ability to know how far to milk both script and audience alike is nothing
short of legendary. What never ceases to amaze is the consummate ease with
which they appear to make it all happen and are quite simply masters of
the game with the effect filtering through the entire cast. There are some
wonderfully timed surprises in Vicki’s characterisation of the outwardly
predictable Betty. Just when you are convinced she is nothing more than
your average everyday housewife, she is transformed into an adventurous,
high spirited tigress prepared to go to any lengths (including husband
swapping), to spice up her life. Callister gives a superbly frantic
portrayal of the sometimes bewildered, sometimes manic Henry whose facial
expressions alone speak a thousand words. There is an equally excellent
performance from Sally Ann Matthews as the bemused and tipsy wife Jean.
Peter Blake as Vic, Chris Ellison as Davenport, John Altman as Slater and
Terry O’Sullivan as Bill produce perfect supporting performances and the
cast is completed with an hysterical cameo appearance given by Patric
Kearns.
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