Theatre

Tamaritans presents Cash On Delivery in Plymouth (review)

30th March 2009

Farcical comedy relies primarily on complicated plotting, and they don’t come much more tangled than Cash On Delivery.

Two years ago Eric lost his job but couldn’t bring himself to tell his wife.

For an income he devised false claims for non-existent lodgers to extract money from the DSS. In a nod towards verisimilitude, Eric now tells the DSS that one of his creations, Norman Bassett, has died, leaving a wife and children.

An inspector from the DSS calls, but is met by Eric’s only actual lodger, the real Norman Bassett.

From there on you need to keep your wits about you to follow the infinite complexities and chaos caused by the cat’s cradle of falsehoods as each deception spawns another.

Eric’s wife, his uncle George, an undertaker, a bereavement counsellor, a doctor, Norman’s fiancee and the ominous Mr Cowper all become embroiled.

Practically every staple element of farce pops up, from mistaken and assumed identities to fake illnesses, transvestism and, of course, men without their trousers.

End of the pier stuff perhaps, and don’t expect subtlety or in depth characterisation. And maybe it’s a bit computerised, and lacks the final degree of mad logic.

But it’s a real laughter raiser, sharply paced under Jeff Strickland’s direction, with actors jumping on their cues, and performing as if their lives depended on it.

The virtuosic cast is headed by Noel Preston-Jones originating the farrago in the role of Eric, and natural farceur George Sutton as Norman.

Dave Martin amusingly disintegrates from staid Mr Jenkins from the social services to drunken shambles hit by lightning.

Rob Howard suffers cruel indignities as Uncle George, and Sally Buswell, Gemma Vigus-Notman, Hilary Walker, Lucy Sayer, David Wilkes and Trevor Hampton contribute to the ingeniously escalating panic and mayhem.

So what if some people sneer at this kind of entertainment? That’s their loss, and this is irresistible fun.

BILL STONE