Review by Lewis Cowen
Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, February 2009. Three salesmen, contemplating the gloom of an ever-deepening recession, decide to rob a department store in London’s West End in the latest show at The Wharf. Simon Mawdsley’s Audacity, on until Saturday, is no ordinary whodunit. It is a clever, compelling and humorous portrait of three entirely different men who are staring into the abyss of financial ruin. Why otherwise would timid John and laddish Dave agree to Philip’s hare-brained scheme to walk into the store, armed with replica pistols, and demand the safe be opened. Despite their complete naivete, they somehow succeed, the erstwhile saintly John pistol-whipping the manager and then getting lost in the panic, clutching the hold-all full of cash. But that is only the start of the drama as Dave and John’s respective spouses, Gemma and Gillian, are drawn into the plot. Former professional actress Frederica Dunstan, well known to Wharf audiences, directs and she shows an assured and deft hand. She is aided by a superb cast: Chris Underwood as Philip, Paul Myles as John, Chris Palmer as Dave, Annie Evans as Gillian and Victoria Wakefield as Gemma. Lewis Cowen. | 
