Would winning millions on the lottery free the average person from the typical pressures of earning a living wage? Or could it simply replace them with a different set of complications? This is the question posed by playwright John Godber over two entertaining hours.

Morris (Gordon Kane) and his wife Jean (Jaqueline Naylor) are a working-class couple in their fifties. He works as a security guard, she on the DVD section of her local Asda. Both are tired of this meagre existence and hope that doing the lottery each week might one day set them free. When the win eventually comes, the £2 million fortune has repercussions - some positive, others disastrous.

Jean's sister, Annie (Fiona Wass) and her husband Norman (James Weaver) are invited to the winning couple's home for Christmas. They are hurt and aggrieved at receiving their customary cheap gifts - particularly Norman by his soap-on-a-rope - whilst the nouveau millionaires fritter money on giant conservatories and holidays in Beverly Hills. A few sherry-induced words from Annie create a lasting rift which has painful consequences.

This type of scenario, easily imagined and squeezed of all its dramatic potential by the extreme posturing of the characters, forms the bedrock of the play. It's a familiar dramatic journey - realisation of the importance of roots via a series of impulsive and ill-considered mistakes. So there's an easy inevitability to the narrative which is morally gratifying and - at times - tryingly predictable.

Lucky Sods is peppered with keen observational humour of family life and supported by some outstanding performances. Gordon Kane's solid portrayal of bluff working-man Morris is flawless. Jaqueline Naylor's Jean has a frankness which hints at deeper feelings. Fiona Wass and James Weaver each play three distinct parts. Fiona Wass plays Morris's geriatric mother, and Morris's old flame Connie. James Weaver plays a camp Californian waiter and a simpering vicar. Their strongest characterisations are as Annie and Norman. Fiona Wass gives Jean's sister Annie a very funny vowel-stretching nasality typical of West Yorkshire. James Weaver's emotionally-stunted Norman's gullibility is funny and endearing. All the performances are aided by Nick Lane's snappy direction, which drives the engaging pace of the show.

Pip Leckenby's set is functional, with a touch of abstraction. An upturned funnel-shaped shower of pound signs forms the towering backdrop for the winning couple's living room for the first half; a series of outdoor locations for the second. Lighting design is by Graham Kirk. Costumes are by Samantha Robinson.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Gordon Kane - Morris. Jaqueline Naylor - Jean. Fiona Wass - Annie / Morris's Mother / Connie. James Weaver - Norman / Californian Waiter / Vicar.

Company Credits: Writer - John Godber. Director - Nick Lane. Set Designer - Pip Leckenby. Lighting Designer - Graham Kirk. Sound Designer - uncredited. Costumes - Samantha Robinson. Technical Operator - uncredited. Producer - uncredited. Company - Hull Truck Theatre Company. Website - www.hulltruck.co.uk. Lawrence Batley Theatre: Press - Suzanne Wynne. Marketing Manager - Graham Whitehead.

END

(c) Jonathan Lodge 2009

reviewed Friday 22 May 09 / Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com