Bingo representative Dave Holt with Writer and Director Neil Bartlett

‘Everybody loves a winner' is the much talked about play running at the Exchange Theatre in Manchester. BingoSupermarket were invited along with a bingo Operator to the Press evening with press critics including The Guardian and The Financial Times. We sat alongside the FT critic and have to say he did appear to enjoy the play and we look forward to reading his reviews.

First of all, I would like to give my review from the perspective of BingoSupermarket and what a bingo player may think. The setting was superb with much attention paid to detail. The set was placed in the centre with the audience surrounding the stage and this also set the scene for the audience to take part in the play. The talented cast members included former Coronation Street favourite Sally Lindsay(Shelly) as the role of manager Linda Chappell and Ian Pulseton-Davies as the caller Frank.

The rest of the cast were made up of the staff and callers,they all gave superb performances capturing the realistic moments when the Manager is concerned about the spend per head as well as the number of first timers, grumbling about the lack of staff enthusiasm and dealing with absenteeism. This set the scene for a typical day in the life of a bingo club.

The positive side of the play is that it was funny, entertaining and accurate, the first half was excellent with a build up to an argument between two customers as one foul mouthed customer let rip against another member with many wise cracks that can sometimes be overheard in UK bingo clubs. Not an everyday occurrence I might add but it does happen.

The tutorial on bingo was good and soon had hundreds of people who had never picked up a dabber and played bingo before becoming seasonal professionals. As it was a real game, inevitably, a member of the audience made a false call much to the amusement of the rest of us and the cast who had to ad lib some of the scenes with witty remarks that made you feel close and involved.

The only negative I could pick up on was towards the end when it got a little over theatrical for my liking but I am not a regular Theatre goer, I suspect this may have had more appeal to the regular theatre attendee and probably they could appreciate the dramatical performances more than me. Overall, it was funny and the talented actors who played the staff gave some fantastic singing performances and this may also pave the way for perhaps a musical about bingo (Now there's an idea).

After the play I caught up with Dave Holt, that runs a UK bingo chain and he expressed his views. "This was a great play and a must see for any senior manager in the Bingo Industry." Often we are so close and involved in the daily operation of a bingo club; we come accustomed to it and often don't see what is going on in front of our eyes". He went on to say "I thought the bingo players and the staff were entertaining and would have them working in our bingo clubs. The caller seemed to get away with everything, but quite often they do and sometimes that can be part of the attraction. The message at the end was a little confusing which came across to me that one day we are all going to end up as a typical bingo player as though it was a bad thing, it did not seem to illustrate the support and what bingo clubs offer everyone. You don't have to be lonely or sad to play bingo, it is for everyone and very enjoyable." When asked if the play would appeal to bingo players, Dave Holt smiled and said "Yes but I think they will be very critical on the motivation that brings them to bingo and the end should have been a bit more light hearted."

Overall Bingo Supermarket learned a very valuable lesson from the play that is obvious. Bingo is part of the social fabric of UK society. Bingo clubs are striving to innovate and change the perception of the bingo to attract a wider audience. This is at the expense of the people that need bingo and play it on a daily basis. Bingo companies need to go back between 5 - 10 years and readopt these values and policies and the people who need bingo will return. Bingo Supermarket hopes that managers will view the play with an open mind.

Bingo Supermarket caught up with the writer and Director Neil Bartlett after the play and congratulated him on his efforts and hope to see it progress in the future. Mr Bartlett desires to see full houses at all his performance until the end of this month. One thing the play did point out is that the motivation for a person going to bingo and the buzz cannot be replicated online. It is the social interaction that makes the bingo club special.