'House of Games' review — David Mamet's con artist movie becomes a slick, noirish play with plenty of twists

Read our review of House of Games, adapted by Richard Bean and starring Lisa Dillon, now in performances at the Hampstead Theatre to 7 June.

Richard Bean's stage adaptation of David Mamet's highly enjoyable 1987 film was first seen back in 2010, and returns at a time when the idea of con artistry being a strictly underground activity in America feels altogether rather quaint.

Set in Chicago, it centres on Margaret Ford (Lisa Dillon), a psychotherapist and bestselling author who gets sucked into the orbit of a trickster when one of her patients reveals he is in debt to him. Setting out to the House of Games bar to right the wrong, she soon finds herself charmed by Mike (Richard Harrington) and becomes a pseudo collaborator in his band of cons. It would be unfair to reveal any further plot details, but suffice it to say there are plenty of surprises in store.

Jonathan Kent directs this revival on Ashley Martin-Davis’s impressively detailed split-level stage, with Margaret’s office sitting snuggly above the titular bar. Inevitably the range of locations are more limited than on film but the setup enables the action to move dynamically between the two spaces. It also means the bar, which is the scene of several intricately plotted poker games, can occupy the entire expanse of the main stage.

Bean's script is lighter in tone than Mamet's screenplay, including some comic allusions to recent US presidents for good measure. It also signposts the central twist more heavily, and ends differently, all of which has implications for the drama's impact. Although it doesn’t quite capture the thrilling nature of the source, it does make a good case for the story's theatricality – which is no surprise given Mamet's pedigree.

It also boasts a fine cast, with the heavily accented Dillon capturing Margaret’s intertwined intellectual and sexual curiosity, as well as her slight tone of snobbery – she can’t help but smile when she mentions she went to Harvard. Harrington meanwhile gives a study in charming roguishness as Mike, who seems more resigned to a life of crime than to revel in it. And his House of Games cohort includes enjoyable turns from Andrew Whipp as the self-proclaimed Hell’s Angel barman Bobby, Siôn Tudor Owen as the Danny DeVito-ish George, and Robin Soans as the wily Joey.

Completing the company are Oscar Lloyd as the aforementioned patient, Billy, a troubled trustafarian, and Laurence Ubong Williams and Kelly Price who join the action later for the biggest sting in the tail. Although the ensemble acting sometimes lacks fizz, perhaps hampered by the sheer amount of stage business (the creative team includes poker coach Gary Knights, as well as fight director Paul Benzing), it's slickly choreographed and the action peppered with sharp one-liners, which augment Mamet’s characteristically laser-direct dialogue.

Kent’s well-paced production retains the film’s noirish feel, with characters slipping in and out of darkened doorways (aided by Peter Mumford’s shadowy lighting scheme and Paul Groothuis’s moody soundscape), and evokes a suitable sense of dive bar glamour. If you like your plays plot-driven, with a twist, then this one should certainly be on your order list.

House of Games is at the Hampstead Theatre to 7 June.

Photo credit: House of Games (Photos by Manual Harlan)