The Menier Chocolate Factory presents the first major revival of Patrick Marber’s play Dealer’s Choice from 27 September (press night 3 October) to 17 November, directed by Samuel West.
The play is set around a regular poker game between six men. It is supposed to be a friendly game, but this week the stakes are high and winning has its price. In a night of psychological violence and bluff, the men stay up late and bust each other out.
Dealer’s Choice, Marber’s debut play, premiered in 1995 at the National Theatre, directed by Marber himself, before transferring to the Vaudeville and picking up several awards. His subsequent plays include the Laurence Olivier Award-winning Closer, which ran in the West End and on Broadway before being made into a film starring Jude Law and Julia Roberts, plus Howard Katz, After Miss Julie, The Musicians and Don Juan In Soho, which played at the Donmar Warehouse in December 2006. He has written several screenplays including the big screen adaptations of his own play Closer and the recent Notes On A Scandal starring Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett.
Actor and director West recently stepped down as Artistic Director at the Sheffield Crucible. His directing credits include Three Women And A Piano Tuner at the Hampstead and Cosi Fan Tutte for English National Opera at the Barbican. As an actor he is currently appearing in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal at the Donmar Warehouse.
No cast has yet been confirmed for this revival of Dealer’s Choice.
Currently running at the Menier is All Mouth which plays until 7 July, followed by the world premiere of new Maltby and Shire musical Take Flight (13 July-22 September).
CB