REVIEW: MONTAGUE’S MILLIONS by Luke Adamson at Jack Studio Theatre until 4 January 2025

‘A Winning Combination’ ★★★★

So much of Christmas is about tradition. The turkey. The carol concert. The satsuma in the stocking. The Christmas Day watching of Mrs Brown’s Boys (actually, maybe not). And to that we should add the ‘trip to Brockley to the Jack Studio Theatre to see its Christmas show’. Alas, traditions and repeat visits / viewings can sometimes let us down or disappoint - but not in South East London.

Actor and writer Luke Adamson showed he can write a Christmas show with last year’s OH NO IT ISN’T! at the same venue and elements of that effort cast a shadow across Montague’s Millions. Here, at Christmas, a be-hatted stranger hands each of three disparate individual’s envelopes instructing them to board the sleeper train to Penzance and get themselves to the mysterious Montague Manor by 8am to hear the reading of the last will and testament of the aforementioned Montague. The three must tell no one, trust no one and they know nothing more than these basic instructions.

So, we see the upright and slightly uptight Dr Gordon Henderson (Adam Elliott), the obviously posh Lady Penelope Cunningham (Julia Pagett) and rough-round-the-edges dock worker James MacDonald (Tice Oakfield) all thrown together, eyeing each other with suspicion whilst also being naturally concerned about the time on a typically delayed train (this is 1934 by the way, but could also be 2024 with my experiences with Great Western trains). We also find out that all three have financial problems and thus the possibility of a wedge of cash from a will reading could lead them to indulge in treachery and deceit …

The audience knows there’s a deadline that needs to be met and that there will ultimately be a reveal. There are clues sprinkled throughout the 90 minute running time - some subtle whilst others are a bit obvious and a tad heavy handed. The journey undertaken by the unlikely trio gets a bit ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’ - albeit with the plane replaced by other modes of transport - and the slightly meandering script (the show is maybe 10 minutes too long) doesn’t offer enough laughs to wholly sustain. (I should say here there is one absolute laugh out loud moment which breaks the fourth wall and the whole sold out audience loved it).

But Adamson can absolutely write plot and character and, in combination with the Jack’s crack team of Kate Bannister (direction) and Karl Swinyard (set), the show comes across as a mix of The 39 Steps and Emma Rice’s Brief Encounter - it’s a winning triumvirate. The lighting and sound gives a clear and smart sense of time and place, Swinyard gets his prop door out again for Christmas and the cast sweetly play multiple roles and use bits of kit in multiple ways. I’ve said before that what this little pub theatre achieves is remarkable and here it’s primarily down to those 3 key elements - the writing, the direction and the set design.

There’s also much credit to a hard working and engaging cast although perhaps a slightly tighter script would have helped make their interactions sharper and more natural. But, as the good doctor, Adam Elliott offers the audience plenty of ‘nudge nudge wink wink’ storytelling and shows a full range with his secondary characters. Julia Pagett’s Lady Penelope is rather ‘one note’ but she offers heart and soul and place to the story. There is much joy in the return to the Jack of the great Tice Oakfield as James MacDonald, this time sporting a neat little moustache, a variety of accents but with his usual twinkle and pathos. Another super performance. 

The ending is Christmassy and sweet and touching. My 13 year old daughter loved it. I loved it. Indeed, it’s a lovely show - about finally coming together despite life’s turmoil - by a lovely writer in a lovely pub theatre. As the characters in Montague’s Millions like to say - ‘even in the middle of nowhere is somewhere’ and whilst Brockley Road isn’t exactly ‘nowhere’, the Jack Theatre continues to be a big old ‘somewhere’. Merry Christmas.

 Photography: Davor @ The Ocular Creative.

MONTAGUE’S MILLIONS by Luke Adamson at Jack Studio Theatre 10 December 2024 - 4 January 2025

Box Office https://brockleyjack.co.uk/jackstudio-entry/montagues-millions/ 

CAST

Adam Elliott, Tice Oakfield, Julia Pagett

CREATIVES

Written by Luke Adamson

Directed by Kate Bannister

Set Design: Karl Swinyard & Kate Bannister

Lighting Design: Laurel Marks

Sound Design: Matt Karmios & El Theodorou

Costume Design: Martin J Robinson

Produced by Jack Studio Theatre