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Deadly Game by David Foley. UK premiere tour.

On a rainy night in Truro the audience file in to a dimly lit auditorium. The curtains open onto a bright, very smart set – a stylish Manhattan apartment, boldly coloured in maroon and orange with a chrome and glass galley kitchen to one side.

A young man enters from what must be the bedroom, wearing only a bath towel, and the row of middle-aged ladies behind me snigger and giggle, shoving each other and mumbling their approval.

He moves around the apartment with confident ease, as though this is his place but, when a woman comes out of the bedroom in a robe, their exchange is perplexing.

Not a couple at all, Camille (Karen Drury), a wealthy and successful jewellery designer, has brought this young man home from a party, and admits to a weakness for waiters with charm. She tries to pay him off but he won’t take the money and he won’t leave. His earlier confidence is replaced by what seems to be offended sensitivity, but soon becomes smug arrogance as he sits back in her armchair and refuses to move.

Strong, clever Camille will not allow herself to be outwitted by a scheming, ambitious waiter. He gets dressed and the ladies behind me are delighted by a glimpse of his naked backside as he drops the towel from underneath a shirt and tuxedo. We are denied a full revelation for now.

Camille calls her security guard, Ted (Steven Pinder) but getting rid of Billy (Kevin Pallister) isn’t so easy. There are attacks and counter-attacks, feints and dodges. Ted is as defeated as Camille is determined, but she seems to have met her match in Billy. The verbal sparring between the two seems at first to be in her favour - it’s her apartment; she’s wealthy and well-known and he’s an unscrupulous gigolo. Or is he? It’s not clear what he wants from her. He’s a game player and each seeks to outmanoeuvre the other.

Billy does have revelations for Camille, taking her back to the secrets of her past, manipulating her, toying with her, certain of his success. There are moments that are sometimes touching, sometimes macabre. The dialogue is always intelligent, often witty, and David Foley’s well-crafted script and intricate and clever plot has plenty of surprises.

Pinder is excellent as down-on-his-luck Ted, sometimes tough, sometimes desperate. Pallister plays Billy as cocksure and there are one or two missed opportunities where he could be more sinister. Drury over-projects but, as Camille, she maintains audience sympathy, is always likeable and rarely vulnerable.

This play fully engages our attention throughout. It is suspenseful, ironic and impressive watching the power shift from one character to another and it’s never clear which way it’s going to go.

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