Dinner Party Money is a callous study of people using each other for their own social and material ends. Winnie (Helen Burns) is a wealthy middle-aged patron of young, struggling (mostly gay male) artists. She invites a poet, a fashion designer and a painter to dinner, and tries to play them off against each other. It’s obvious they all want her for her money, but an interesting twist is that there are many different types of wealth on show here – youth, talent, money, time, sex – and the characters in the play use whatever currency they possess to trade for what they need, be it hard cash, companionship, security, social standing.

Stian (Jonathan Riley) is the new boy, who’s not actually gay (or is he?), and who’s a poet looking for a patron to fund his first book (or is he?). The hostess is the last to enter the scene, allowing the pretty young men the requisite amount of time to first eye each other up and gossip about her.

It’s Stian’s first time at one of Winnie’s notoriously debauched dinner parties and fashion designer Martin (Edward Clendon) fills him in on the traditions.

Stian is a nervous, whiney, indecisive prat and throughout the whole play he vacillates between wanting to run away and resolving to stay and degrade himself as Winnie’s toyboy so he can get his paws on her money. Jonathan Riley does the jittery, naive straight boy quite well, but his performance gets a bit monotonous in pretty much one gear the whole way through. This is all the more unfortunate as he’s the central character.

It’s an interesting scenario, but the acting is a bit lethargic. Quite possibly this was just a symptom of opening night stiffness, but I felt the performances overall were a bit flat. I understand the director (Roderick D Morgan) has gone for a naturalistic fly-on-the-wall approach, but there are too many pointless pauses in the dialogue, which have the effect of dissipating tension rather than building it. Many good lines are left to die a natural death.

None of the guests or the hostess are very animated and for a large part of the play there’s not much going on except for Stian’s scantily concealed plan to part the rich bitch from a few wads of cash, and his objections to more booze and non-vegetarian food. There’s a lack of chemistry between the characters, as if the actors are unsure what’s expected of them.

Helen Burns’ Winnie is unconvincing – there was nothing to make me either sympathise with her or dislike her – she’s far too bland for someone who supposedly likes to be influential, risqué and domineering. Garth (Alex Gandar) is a similarly nondescript character.

The only real exception is Kim, the Philippino dancer, played by Samuel Bowen Partridge. It’s a physiological relief every time he enters a scene. He’s effortlessly funny and pitch-perfect. Kim feels trapped; he lives with Winnie, all expenses paid, including his dance tuition, and in return he cooks and cleans and puts up with her criticisms.

Edward Clendon also breathes life into some otherwise bland scenes, as Martin, who is elegant, insightful and completely cynical and the most believable character.

Thankfully, the ending is a bit more colourful. Leaving behind the soporific earlier scenes, the tone switches to a farcical thriller, in which the characters finally act out their desperation and base instincts.
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