LUCIDMEDIA

Cash On Delivery

Written by John Gould Thursday, 14 June 2007 04:36

Unemployed Eric Swan (Bryan Foster) launched a career as the ultimate welfare cheat by claiming benefits for a house-full of imaginary tenants, all of whom have “special needs.” His scheme and his conscience come to overtake him. At first, Eric’s Uncle George (Bruce Bricknell), is the only one to know the inside story. Eric decides to start disposing of his fictitious tenants by having them “die.” However, the situation begins to fly out of control when a real welfare inspector (Nigel Hamer) comes a-calling before Eric can free himself of his fraudulent sources of income. Eric’s decline and fall accelerate when he drafts one of his real tenants, Norman McDonald (Paul Brown), to participate in keeping his scam on the rails. Unfortunately for Eric, one lie leads to the next. While Norman is an unwilling liar, Uncle George is not a convincing one. This segment is a potential dramatic mine field of ham and missed cues. Bruce Bricknell and Paul Brown are good choices to play Uncle George and Norman. They play their parts as sincerely as vaudeville straight-men. The result is gales of laughter. Later, when Ms Cowper (Maria Heidler), the welfare supervisor, arrives and is mistaken for Norman in drag, the fondling that results from Eric sends the audience out of control. Paul Brown, Bruce Bricknell and Maria Heidler all exhibit dextrous comedic timing.

For those seeking an outing into the ultimate chaotic British farce, Cash On Delivery delivers the goods at King's Wharf. It is an absolute hoot.

CAST
Uncle George	Bruce Bricknell
Norman McDonald	Paul Brown
Doctor Chapman	Kevin Burnett
Eric Swan	Bryan Foster
Mr. Jenkins	Nigel Hamer
Ms. Cowper	Maria Heidler
Mr. Forbright	Randolph J. Johnston
Linda Swan	Mary Long
Miss Dixon	Stephanie McNamara
Sally Chessington	Karen Sweet