Alec and Mary McPh­er­son run a little cafe in scen­ic New Zea­l­and called House of Mince. Mary is a little tired of the mono­tony of their life but she’s happy enough. Then a man known as Don­key Boy vis­its Lon­don-based crime lord Vic Snow, and Alec and Mary’s lives won’t be the same.

Writ­ten by Edward Camp­bell, who plays Alec, and dir­ec­ted by Ger­aldine Brophy, this is an enter­tain­ing show. Camp­bell is partnered by Julie Edwards as Mary McPh­er­son. Camp­bell uses his phys­ic­al­ity and vocal skills to embody the many facets of his char­ac­ter while Edwards is enjoy­ably prag­mat­ic. (Hat tip to Cos­tume design­er Hanna McK­en­zie Doornebosch for Mary’s cos­tumes in par­tic­u­lar.)  Ham­ish Boyle plays Don­key Boy as a cocky oppor­tun­ist with an almost glee­ful dis­reg­ard for oth­er people. Phil Grieve is Vic Snow. He spends most of his time sit­ting still but it’s pos­sible to feel the waves of men­ace rolling off him when it’s needed. Scott Ransom is Pom. He has a good sense of the char­ac­ter with shifts in mood that feel genu­ine. Stage man­ager Bri­an Hot­ter has a quick turn on stage for a small but cru­cial role.

Brophy’s dir­ec­tion ensures that the pace is kept up as the story bounces from scene to scene.  The set by Ross Job­lin and light­ing by Tony Black clev­erly sup­port the action while sound by Geof­frey Hern rounds out the pic­ture.

For all your crime story needs.