Hull New Theatre – until 13th July 2024
Reviewed by Dawn Bennett
4****
I have always been a fan of the late, great Kay Mellors work on the tv but this was the first time I have seen a production of hers on the stage. And it was really, really good. It was typical Kay Mellor, with very likeable characters, a brilliant storyline and was funny and heartbreaking in equal measures, she really was the most brilliant storyteller.
The Syndicate tell the story of five people who all work together in a local shop. On the day that they find out that they are going to lose their jobs, as the shop has been sold and is going to be demolished, they win big on the Lottery rollover… £24,000,000 big, and as they are all members of a lottery syndicate that is nearly £5,000,000 each! When the lottery representative (Jade Golding) arrives at the shop to verify their win the fun then really starts.
The staff are all big characters, brothers Stuart (Benedict Shaw) and Jamie (Oliver Anthony). Denise (Samantha Giles), Leanne (Rosa Coduri-Fulford) and the manager Bob (William Ilkley) and we learn about their lives and some of the secrets they keep. Stuart needs money for a deposit on a flat, his girlfriend Amy (Brooke Vincent) has moved back to her mums taking their son and baby daughter with her. Jamie owes money to some very dodgy people, Leanne, who lives with her daughter and is not quite what she seems and Denise, who loves dogs and her bone-idle husband. Jamie hatches a plot to steal money from the shop with the help of his brother Stuart, unfortunately Bob comes back during the robbery and is badly injured so the police arrive in the shape of DCI Newall (Jerome Ngonadi) who is determined to get to the bottom of what happened.
The story is fast paced and it kept my interest throughout, the cast are really good and they make their characters very believable. I enjoyed this show would really recommend that you go and see this if you can.