BBC Radio 4 The Afternoon Play Oct 10, 2007
This play involves tough guy card gambling stuff. I don't know why card playing is a concern of tough guys. It's not like it is at all active, manly, but is people sitting around a table for hours looking at numbers and pictures on little cards.
There is money involved and we know that tough guys are always interested in money. Why is that? Maybe tough guys are really scared little boys worried about their personal security.
That said, I didn't find this play very interesting at all. It could have been that the tough guys were too tough, and not at all interesting enough for me. One of the guys has a wife and they have a couple of scenes but they are of low emotional content. Mostly just disapproving wife stuff that didn't add much conflict, or doubtful self-searching, to the proceedings.
I guess the only thing I like about manly gambling stories is when they are really addiction stories. This isn't that.
If one is really interested in the game itself there in no satisfaction here since the play skips the game entirely.
It's really a father-son story.
There are Joe Strummer tunes, and he was pretty great.
