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Cash on Delivery Phoenix Theatre company Didcot Civic Hall Michael Cooney's Cash on Delivery is a farce centred around Eric Swan who, unbeknown to his wife Linda, has been defrauding the DSS for two years by claiming benefit for an army of fictitious lodgers, all of whom suffer from a variety of ailments for which they can claim. The play begins when Eric finds it all getting too complicated and tried to extricate himself by killing off his make-believe tenants. The first call he makes is to inform the council that one of his creations, Norman Bassett (the lumberjack) has died. He is interrupted in this by the real life Norman Bassett (a shoe salesman) who really is Eric's lodger, but has no idea that Eric is claiming benefits in his name. When a few minutes later the DSS Inspector Mr Jenkins comes round to see another one of the fictitious claimants Norman gets sucked into Eric's web of deceit. As Linda, Uncle George (the only other person who knows about the scam), Norman's fiancée and assorted officials from the council turn up, different lies unfold. Until finally the orchestra of mistimings, mistaken identities and hasty inventions leads to an incredibly convoluted plot involving a drunk council official, a mad mother who eats wall paper, two corpses, one deaf piano tuner, one lumberjack, several cross dressers and a very temperamental washing machine. Keith Norman's Mr Swan is expressive, whilst David Cooke's Norman Basset seems like a brighter version of Rodney Trotter. Bettina Hughes plays an over anxious Sally (the bereavement counsellor), whilst Rebecca Norton's Linda Swan is splendidly irate. Andrew Down as Mr Jenkins gets better and better as the play goes on. The cast were all confident, competent and clearly enjoying themselves. Myself, I laughed till I could hardly breathe. The script was clever and the acting and directing did it justice. I look forward to seeing the Phoenix Theatre Company's next production. The venue deserves a special mention. The seating was arranged in tables with candles and the bar served reasonably priced drinks, making for a very mellow atmosphere, all of which conspired to make it a thoroughly enjoyable evening out. Jeevani Mantotta |