by Alex Nicholl
La Mama at Courthouse until March, 1996
Reviewer: Kate Herbert, reviewed around 19 Feb 1996
Re-visiting our earthy, Anglo-Celt, inner-urban roots is a popular practice for local writers. Minties for the Tin by Alex Nicholl is an example of such nostalgia. Ex-jockey and bookie, Mick (Jim Daly) updates a betting scam to teach his grabby investment adviser son, Peter
( Adam May) a lesson in greed.
Mick is played with intelligence, warmth and humour by Jim Daly, an actor who should have been grabbed by mainstage companies long ago. It is the scenes between spivvy, seductive Mick and his loyal, slow-moving mate, Dadda (played laconically by John Flaus) which are the centre of the piece.
The matiness and sheer boldness of the old geezers is delightful as Mick schemes to win enough for "fruit for the sideboard" and "Minties for the tin". "There's never been a time when greed was out of fashion," says Mick.
The script fails in the writing of the two younger characters and the problems are exacerbated by some uncomfortable over-acting by the two actors. One quickly tires of the boorish Peter's relentless, sneering swagger and of the over-stated seductiveness of Gai (Catherine Purling), his partner in greed. The two shout and snipe at each other non-stop.
The play runs 100 minutes but really only began an hour in when the betting scam took off. The direction was pedestrian with too many, too slow scene changes. It is, however, worth having a gander at the old blokes if you have a dad or grandad of this generation.
KATE HERBERT
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