13 November 2008 - 15 November, 2008
Four Men and A Poker Game orToo Much Luck is Bad Luckadapted from the short story by Bertolt Brechttranslated by John WillettDirected by Zoë SvendsenWith an original score composed and performed by David Paul JonesMetis Arts in association with Northern Stage
A backroom bar tale of the perils of winning.Four men on a boat from Havana to New York. They are all champion swimmers who have just won races. One of them they call ‘lucky Johnny’… Out of boredom, the men begin to play poker, and Johnny begins to win. And win. They stake all their money, their houses, their girls – and still he wins. He treats them to dinner – and realises too late that they cannot enjoy it as they only see their own dollars going to waste. The more desperately Johnny tries to lose, the more he wins, until it becomes a fight for survival. And this time, Johnny cannot possibly win. ‘They consolidated what was left of the drinks, three men and a poker deck on the way from Havana to New York…’ Four Men offers a compelling parable of contemporary capitalism, told by a speaker with a mysterious past.Brecht’s wry and sinister story is set to live piano accompaniment in the theatre’s most intimate space. You can listen to samples of the composer's work on his website.
Tickets: £7.50, £5.50 concessions
Thu 13 November at 7.30pmFri 14 & Sat 15 November 7.30pm and 9.45pm