Tons of Money

by Will Evans

Aubrey has been left the life interest in a fortune which reverts on his death to his cousin George. Since George is thought to have died in Mexico, Aubrey "dies" and then resurrects himself as cousin George, thus eliminating his own vast debts. He is obliged to "die" and take on other identities twice more to avoid complications, until the real George turns up, announcing that the Mexican Government has annexed the fortune.|4 women, 6 men

Genres: Plays

86 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Nick Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is jolly. Or it is for a while but then it gets monotonous. A 1920s farce which seems to be revived now and again – there is a version by Alan Ayckbourn, but I read the original. As I understand it, a lot of farces (or most? all?) begin with an original transgression, a lie or dubious plan, but then one thing leads to another, events spiral out of control while keeping to their own implacable logic, and comic absurdity and chaos ensues. The problem with Tons of Money is that the original plan and lie is so silly (the central character has to fake his own death and then pretend to be his cousin so that he, rather than his creditors, gets an inheritance) that there isn’t the sense of normality being overturned or inverted: normality is already ridiculous and therefore can’t become anymore ridiculous. But the play has some amusing situations and I expect a good production can be amusing.

[Daisy Leather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play has all the ingredients that all good farces are made of. So much fun!