Skip to main content

Review of The Syndicate at Milton Keynes Theatre

Kay Mellor's The Syndicate has been a huge success on television having reached four series across the last ten years or so. Each following a different group of characters who find themselves the lucky winners of a lottery jackpot, it has managed to snare impressive cast members as well across the series. Due to the success, it isn't a surprise that this play, based purely on series one, has reached the stage. However, does television make good theatre, that is the question.

It seems, as a result of this production, it creates maybe what could best be described as average theatre, as across its short two-hour running time (which includes the interval) there are a few thrills and a good number of laughs, but few moments in the way of ground-breaking theatre. Directed (and starring) Kay Mellor's daughter Gaynor Faye, and a collection of relatively familiar faces from TV, the production is a standard offering. Directed with little flair, and a large number of scene changes, mostly in blackout, bar a couple of occasional entertainingly created ones. It all is just rather safe theatre.

The cast is a mixture of success from the excellent, such as Oliver Anthony as the rough and eager-for-trouble Jamie who hides a past and is ready for more trouble. Anthony makes the best impact in this mixed cast with his stage debut. The reliable William Ilkey brings the likeable Bob to the stage with a nice touch, while Samantha Giles plays Denise purely for laughs and most of the time this is fine, but does irritate at times.

Elsewhere, it is quite a mixture of performances, with Brooke Vincent simply a one-tone, and annoying chavvy Amy with little to like. Benedict Shaw provides, for such an important role as Stuart, little to get thrilled about, while Jerome Ngonadi plays the walk-on role of Newall with very little spark.

Rosa Coduri-Fulford's Leanne is played totally flat which is a huge disappointment for a character that clearly has one of the best backstories lurking, but in the end, as an audience, you end up not really caring. Completing the main cast is Gaynor Faye who plays lottery representative Kay full-on and pretty much for comedy and for what little the character has to do, it's fine, if underwhelming.

Ultimately, this production directed by Faye has an uninventive touch and fails to do enough to warrant a stage show and grasp the power of theatre and its techniques. It is very much just the TV series on stage and if that is what you want, head off to a theatre near you when it passes. However, you might really be best served by staying home and watching the series again and choosing the theatre for something with more grit and style.

Very much television on stage with not enough theatre drama to be found.


Performance reviewed: Tuesday 28th May 2024 at the Milton Keynes Theatre.

The Syndicate runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 1st June 2024.

For further details about Milton Keynes see their website at http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

Production photos: Craig Sugden



Popular posts from this blog

Review of National Theatre Connections 2017 (16 Shows) at Royal & Derngate (Royal & Underground), Northampton

Alongside the University of Northampton BA Actors Flash Festival, the Connections festival at Royal & Derngate is now my joint favourite week of theatre each year. This is my fourth year at the festival and each time I have tried my very best (and succeeded) in seeing more and more of those on offer (four in 2014, ten in 2015 and twelve last year). This year I cracked sixteen shows, including the most interesting, a chance to see two of the plays by three different groups. I was able to see nine of this year's ten plays (a single nagging one, Musical Differences by Robin French was missing from the R&D line-up), and most I either enjoyed or finally understood their merits or reasons for inclusion. The writing of sixteen reviews is a little bit of an daunting prospect, however, I will do my best to review each of the plays and those I saw more than once, and pick around the comparisons. Extremism by Anders Lustgarten Performed by Bedford College Extremism was perfo...

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though,  Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...

Review of Lord Of The Dance at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The stage show Lord of the Dance possibly needs little introduction to most people, as it has become a legend and now, in this touring version, subtitled rather immodestly, 25 Years of Standing Ovations, it reaches a landmark anniversary. Those that do not know of the show would probably well know its spiritual fathers Michael Flatley, and even more likely Riverdance , from which Lord of the Dance sprung with a proper spring in its step. During the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Riverdance hit the world by storm as Michael Flatley and his troop of dancers possibly presented the most famous part of Eurovision ever, certainly of the non-singing variety at least. Here, this touring show brings that same style Flatley created from traditional Irish dancing across the country once again and it is truly something special to see. The concept of the show is simply a battle between good and evil told through dance, and some captivating and stunning songs performed by Celyn Cartw...