I guess I went into the production of “Lawyers, Drugs & Money” expecting more courtroom shenanigans than a domestic drama. Having grown up listening to the 3RRR radio show “Lawyers, Guns & Money” I know how hilarious and dubious legal types can be, but unfortunately, despite the play being a bit of fun, there was nothing terribly insightful or original here. The actors were all great in their parts working hard to bring life to the often lacklustre script, Michael Bishop chewed the scenery with some very filthy language, but I felt Geoff Wallis as Nick and Emily Thomas as Sapphire/Saandii particularly shone in their parts. Ben Prendergast as the drug dealing footballer was not really given enough to do and I was glad that Suzy played by Diana Emry was a lawyer in her own right which gave her a bit more to do than be ‘the wife’. The simple Asian rice paper inspired set worked really well, especially as the main scenes were set at a Chinese restaurant called the Happy Lucky Duck.
The first hour or so of this play was a little dull and very light on laughs as the largely quiet audience confirmed. Particularly stodgy and unnecessary was all the background of the main protagonists; our hero Nick played by Geoff Wallis, his ‘mate’ the villain, Alan played by Michael Bishop and the woman who comes between them Suzie, could this be more cliché? I think they thought the sight of craggy old Mike Bishop and Geoff in bad wigs, slacking off at uni on drugs, while playing in a band called Gunmetal would be hilarious, but it just made me cringe uncomfortably, like watching your dad dance at a costume party dressed as Barnsey. Perhaps the back story could have been explained in a handful of well placed bits of dialogue or as Sammy J & Randy did in their legal satire, Ricketts Lane, in a rocking and hilarious song. There were some songs in this that added well to the atmosphere, but they weren’t very funny or memorable.
The last half hour or so of this show made sitting through the first bit worth while, it was much funnier, with a swifter pace, funnier jabs at the legal profession and corrupt footballers and a fabulous finale with a great twist. Earlier, there was a post rape scene that was disturbingly dark and well handled with Sapphire in the background quietly dealing with the aftermath while the blokes cracked jokes down stage oblivious, it was my favourite scene in the play that shed light on the reality behind some of the headline stories but I don’t think there was anything else in the play that came close to being as good.
There were lots of little references to real court cases that have been splashed across the media, so it was often a case of spot the famous case and guess who they are hinting at, but just referencing these things is not good enough. Though there was the odd laugh of recognition at these references, (even a mention of the local Tiamo restaurant got a laugh), there was not enough wit in the dialogue or dodgy stories and characters woven through the plot to make this a satisfying satire. It was a theatrical comedy in a Shakespearean sense, that it had mistaken identity, political mockery, a few laughs and a happy ending, but it was not really a rip roaring comedy show, perhaps it takes experienced comedians to really come up with killer gags. While watching this play I felt that it couldn’t help but pale in comparison to another comic, musical play that lampoons the law with filthy language at this year’s Festival. Lawyers Drugs & Money is an amusing play, grounded in reality with sympathetic characters but if you really want to laugh you’re arse off at something truly unique, you’re probably better off seeing Sammy J and Randy in Ricketts Lane.
For booking details go to the Comedy Festival website