Devisor: Nathan Charles
What would you do if you won the lottery? Buy a house? A car? Several cars and several houses? Or perhaps get yourself 10,000 sausage dogs and, of course, a caretaker to clean up after them?
In When the Fun Stops, Try Again? at the Pleasance Theatre, Nathan Charles and Brightmouth Productions present us with an exploration of gaming and gambling through a purely audience-based interactive no-man show set-up. Yes, that is correct; in Charles’ performance, the only people to appear on stage are the audience members themselves.
Prompted by a well-constructed PowerPoint, the brave, thrill-seeking and risk-taking spectators are asked to pick a numbered ball from a box set on a long prop table on the side of the stage. They read the ball number into the microphone and then either win £500, end the show immediately, or are asked to read the corresponding script. These well-written, semi-autobiographical scripts describe various moments of Charles’ life, collecting football cards or going to the casino, often ending with a game for the reader to play such as rolling dice or flipping coins. As the show continues, with the odds hopefully in our favour as more and more people are asked to read scripts, raising the stakes on winning or ending the game, a real camaraderie is felt within the audience, as we collectively cheer, laugh and participate in the reader’s activities.
This incredibly original format is well implemented and genuinely fun, but there are downsides to asking random volunteers to read on stage. Though some speak softly and calmly, others tremble and mispronounce words, taking away from the pacing and structure of the show. In addition, the repetitive nature of picking numbers and reading scripts, as well as the disorganised narrative, makes it difficult to explore themes in more depth. Although the stories touch on gambling and inequality, there is no real meaning to these tales.
Yet, when the game does come to its abrupt end, it’s hard not to want to try again one more time. So, perhaps the show succeeds in its goal, drawing you in unaware and leaving you wanting more.
Reviewed on 20 October 2026
