We're bringing Funny Money to Sunderland

The playwright’s Funny Money is heading to Royalty Theatre off Chester Road.

Last performed at the Royalty in 2011, the play follows the misadventures of Henry Perkins, an average man in a dead-end job who finds he’s accidentally picked up a briefcase containing £735,000.

As his birthday evening progresses, he finds himself looking for ever more ludicrous ways to escape the attentions of a variety of policemen and underworld characters, while trying to escape to Barcelona.

Dan Page plays Henry Perkins – a role played in the theatre’s 2011 production by his own father, Jeff, who sadly passed away in 2021.

Dan said: “In 2011, Caroline Chapman directed Jeff Page in Funny Money. My dad would take me to all his shows for years.

“In Funny Money I watched every rehearsal and saw him in his element. Now, Caroline is directing it again and it is a privilege to follow in his footsteps. The pressure is on and the stakes are high; I hope I do him proud.”

The play also stars Lee Wilkins and Kori Johnson, fresh from winning Best Actor and Best Actress respectively in the Sunderland and Durham One-Act Festival.

Both will once again perform the winning piece, The Sun Will Always Shine, at the next round of the All-England Theatre Festival in Saltburn, just a week after Funny Money ends.

*Funny Money runs from 21st to 25th April, with tickets available via their Ticketsource site www.ticketsource.co.uk/royaltytheatre or on 0333 666 3366. Tickets are priced at £10 or £8.50 for concessions.