This play more than any other I’ve seen uses the first half to set up the second.  Luckily, the first half is entertaining in its own right.  The set is very well-designed and Robin Morton facilitates sharp rather than jumpy changes between the kitchen and the restaurant.  Funny moments elicit a consistent chuckle from the small audience, and the banterous tone is complemented by fraught arguments between Frankie and Sweeney, Stephen and his son.  While Jamie Hansen’s excellent goon is the most obviously manipulated character, elements of all the others mount subtly to colour or determine their fate in the basement poker game.

Unfortunately the tension dissipates when Stephen’s good-for-nothing son Carl is confronted by Ash, his poker mentor.  Matt Reizenstein looks suitably dorkish as habitual poker player Ash, and has the expression to match in the second act; but when it comes to the £4,000 “Where’s my money?” question there is no sign of the sinister urgency that the moment requires.  Stephen Bailey’s Carl shows no reaction to his situation, a failure that cannot even charitably attributed to youthful recklessness, as this doesn’t come through either – there is simply no emotion in his character.  We might not be in a gangster movie, but money matters for such high stakes warrant some sincerity.

This leaves act two with a lot of rebuilding work, but thankfully it manages to catch up and revive the play.  The hierarchical power relationships that exist between this group of friends, employees and acquaintances are made stark.  The dominating Stephen is masterfully performed by Guy Woolf.  The fact that he is the best actor reinforces his position of control over all the other characters, addicted to gambling for the power it allows him to assert over others.  The script is excellent and the many moments of tension are brilliantly executed, as the actors leave the perfect hang time at the big, plot governing junctures.

There were some first night slips: an annoying beeping came over the sound system for a minute or so, and the pack of cards got out of sync, leading to declarations of the “ten of clu-diamonds”.  But despite the technical and acting hiccups, Dealer’s Choice makes very entertaining and interesting viewing.  A play as much about power as about gambling, you can easily muddle through the poker even if you know nothing about it – it is, after all, a game of bluff.