The Billionaire Inside Your Head at Hampstead Theatre Review
Nathan Clarke and Allison McKenzie in The Billionaire Inside Your Head. Photo by Rich Lakos
Written by Becky K for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Will Lord’s debut play, ‘The Billionaire Inside Your Head’, is a complex self-assessment of motivation and confidence. Directed by Anna Ledwich, the three-person play is a blend of drama and comedy that combines a satirical commentary on the corporate grind with Lord’s personal experiences with OCD. While the concept is tight, the overall length of the show is a little too long to maintain engagement throughout.
All Richie (Nathan Clarke) dreams of is to be a billionaire. However, he has a long way to get there. Stuck at the bottom of the corporate ladder with friend and colleague Darwin (Ashley Margolis). Richie is staunchly committed to making the big bucks, where his strict physical and business routine makes him believe he will make it. Darwin is the opposite, more interested in smoking in the office and watching old episodes of Seinfeld. When Darwin’s mother and CEO of the company, Nicole (Allison McKenzie), makes business restructuring decisions that affect Richie’s position, Richie’s intrusive thoughts become more intense as he tries to hold onto his dream in the face of corporate nepotism and self-doubt.
The basement office floor set, designed by Janet Bird, complemented the downstairs studio of Hampstead Theatre. Its traverse setting shows two desks and two large sets of filing cabinets facing each other. Richie’s neat and structured personality is presented with his neat and tidy space, accompanied by a pendulum on his desk. Darwin’s side of the office demonstrated a typical ‘man cave’ aesthetic that may be familiar from shows such as ‘The IT Crowd’, with messy cabinets capped off with a basketball ring and darts board either side of it. The effective lighting design by James Whiteside also brought the concept to life, with forty or so hanging lightbulbs from the ceiling flickering along with Richie’s narrative, visually displaying that ‘lightbulb moment’ that is so often spoken of by people who reflect upon their successes.
Richie’s OCD is embodied through the fourth character known as The Voice, also played by McKenzie. The Voice appears simultaneously alongside his scenes with Nicole, showing a physical representation of Richie’s intrusive thoughts coming into conflict with the coveted company position he so desperately wants. McKenzie plays the dominant force of The Voice well, becoming more intrusive and forceful as Richie’s sanity descends. This leads to the climax of the play, where The Voice ritualistically, yet seductively, unleashes Richie’s inner billionaire. Both McKenzie and Clarke brought great rhythm and intensity to their performances.
However, after Richie’s final confrontation with The Voice, built up throughout the narrative, he essentially gives up on the dream and chooses to work in roles that are better for his mental health. While the moral of the story works and is well-meaning, the ending fell a bit short due to the entire script beforehand exploring Richie desperately trying to become a success. Despite setting the scenes of Richie’s mindset, you see little ideas of his come intro fruition, and it would have been interesting to see Lord create more jeopardy by building up Richie’s platform and having more to lose.
Performing at Hampstead Theatre until 25th October, The Billionaire Inside Your Head is a well-executed debut from Lord, successfully intertwining a performance filled with funny tech bro stereotypes with their internal dialogues of motivations and insecurities.
★★★
