The MKFM team were invited to see The Syndicate at Milton Keynes Theatre, running until Saturday 1st June and here is our review…
Kay Mellor’s The Syndicate theatre show based on her hit TV series provides a night of intrigue, humour and despair.
The transition from the screen to stage was undertaken by Mellor’s daughter Gaynor Faye directing in her late mother’s honour. Helped by a cast of real distinction, the show portrays the life of a group of shopworkers all enduring the emotions of daily strife when suddenly a collective win on the Lottery changes all.
Kay Mellor’s brilliance at creating characters we can identify with are here to be seen and enjoyed. Denise (Samantha Giles), a big hearted somewhat dotty middle aged lover of dogs provides most of the comical elements.
The two shop working brothers– Jamie and Stuart (Oliver Anthony, Benedict Shaw) are full of drama and disagreement while Leanne (Rosa Coduri-Fulford), is an innocent young single parent who prefers the quite life.
Holding them all together during work hours is shop manager Bob.
For the two brothers, the pressures of their current financial situations take their toll and in an act of sheer desperation they rob their own store and hospitalise Bob while doing so. To then discover when returning to the scene of the crime the next morning they have won millions on the lottery.
Other characters become prominent Brooke Vincent as the entitled wife Amy, is excellent as is Jerome Ngonadi as the unperturbed very dry witted detective Newall, and Gaynor Faye herself as Kay, the lively Lottery Rep forever seeking publicity.
As the millions are collected and divided amongst the syndicate, their lives and relationships take many different turns. Some good, some bad, some very unexpected.
With a simple stage set, superb script and the collective brilliance of all the cast the Syndicate provides a classic evening of enjoyable melodrama or perhaps I should a say Mellordrama!
The Syndicate is at Milton Keynes Theatre from Tue 28 May - Sat 1 Jun. Book your tickets now at ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes.
