The Manchester-based Rocket Theatre Company, established by artistic director Martin Harris, has produced an exciting combination of popular established work alongside completely new plays since its inception five years ago.

However, none have been more exciting than the current production of Patrick Marber's award winning play which, although produced on a shoestring, is a rare combination of directorial skill and first-rate casting.

The enforced intimacy of the small Studio Theatre at the Coliseum and taut direction not only draws the audience into the setting of the kitchen and front of house of a successful restaurant, but totally involves spectators in the mimed poker game which is pivotal to the plot.

Adam Waddington is completely believable as Sweeney the stressed chef, as is Richard Metcalfe as Frankie the would-be professional poker player. John LeHunte is a name to watch as the mysterious Ash. Geoff Holman is Stephen, the owner with a hidden agenda, while Elliot Silvester is his addicted son Carl. But much of the success of the evening lies with Christian Pedro Segura as Mugsy. He gives a stunningly effervescent performance which dictates the pace of the whole production and breathes fresh life into a piece which, although verbally brilliant, tends to be rather static.

Marber's clever work is in safe hands with this theatre company, which now embarks on a brief northern tour. It is to be hoped that it will soon find additional funding so that productions of this quality can be seen by a wider audience.

REVIEW - CITY LIFE / MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS, NOVEMBER 1999.

In the kitchen we meet chef Sweeney (Adam Waddington) and waiters Frankie (Richard Metcalfe) and Mugsy (the excellent Christian Pedro Segura), a gang of small time gamblers who hook up every week to chance their luck with restaurant owner Stephen (Geoff Holman) and his debt ridden son Carl (Elliot Silvester). However, when card pro Ash (John LeHunte) joins the table, the stakes are raised and old scores need to be settled.

Writer Patrick Marber, best known as star and co-writer of the Alan Partridge series Knowing Me Knowing You, has created a marvellously accessible play which mixes comedy and drama in equal measure. Although a smattering of knowledge about poker would be useful, the play casts it net much wider, tackling parenthood, addiction and self-denial head on. Originally performed in a sizeable London venue, director Martin Harris has done a fine job of scaling down the production to fit into these snug studio theatres. The elaborate restaurant kitchen is successfully recreated in the imagination and all props have been dispensed with to avoid unnecessary confusion.

With strong new writing so thin on the ground in Manchester theatres at the moment, Dealer's Choice is like a breath of fresh air. Recommended.

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REVIEW - STUDENT DIRECT

There is something strangely fascinating about poker. Not only is it notoriously difficult to play, but there's also the risk, the know-how, and ultimately, the psychology. It is, as David Mamet said, all about character, which is why it makes for such a rich dramatic metaphor. And it is poker, with all its masculine rituals and tactical one-upmanship, which Marber uses to great effect to explore the tensions in a group of friends brought together by their common employment in an East London Restaurant and, of course, by their common love of this often expensive game.

The story is simple enough. It's a Sunday evening and the restaurant is winding up. Mugsy and Frankie, the two waiters, are both eagerly awaiting their weekly bout of poker; each have their own financial problems to which they believe poker is the answer. Sweeney, the cook, is not so keen; he's skint, a casualty of recent games. Stephen, the owner, has his own concerns; primarily his son from whom he feels a little estranged given that they only meet once a week over a game of cards. Meanwhile, Carl, Stephen's son, is worried about a rather large debt he owes to his friend, Ash. It is at the ensuing poker game, to which even the reluctant Sweeney is eventually dragged, that they all attempt to solve their various pressing problems.

There is little doubt that Dealer's Choice, Marber's first theatrical outing and precursor to his now globally-successful, Closer, is an outstanding play to which Martin Harris and his excellent cast have done justice to. The composition of the play is certainly assured: in the assembling of the story, the sharp dialogue, and the playing off of one character against the other, Marber scarcely puts a foot wrong. But the play is about more that poker and the pitfalls of gambling. Indeed, it stands as testament to Marber's patent play writing skills that he works through the game to explore not only the compulsive nature of gambling, but also father-son relationships and the darker aspects of the male psyche. An intense and compelling play which deserves not to be missed.

21st - 25th September 1999 - Bolton Octagon Studio Theatre. 28th Sept - 2nd Oct 1999 - Didsbury Studio Theatre, Manchester. Sound Operator: Danielle Brotherton (work experience). 2nd Tour 2nd - 4th November 2000 - Didsbury Studio Theatre, Manchester. 9th - 11th November 2000 - CragRats Theatre, Holmfirth. 14th November 2000 - Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster. 15th November 2000 - Queen's Hall, Widnes. 16th - 18th November 2000 - Theatre by the Lake, Keswick. Stage Manager: Torquil Varty. Directed by Martin Harris. Cast: Geoff Holman, John LeHunte, Richard Metcalfe, Christian Pedro Segura, Elliot Silvester, Adam Waddington. Lighting Designer: Iain Dennis.