Tons of Money
Shaw Festival 2025
Photo: David Cooper
Shaw Festival 2025/Tons of Money by Will Evans and Valentine, directed by Eda Holmes, Royal George Theatre, closes Oct. 5.
The Shaw Festival is famous for its farces, and nobody does them better. Every season I look forward to seeing what ridiculous, razor-sharp, rapid-fire romp will hit the stage — and this year’s offering, Tons of Money, is one of the very best.
First produced in 1922, this vintage English farce by Will Evans and Arthur Valentine is pure mayhem — a masterclass in chaos and deception – an absurd scheme that goes gloriously off the rails and director Eda Holmes and her cast hit every note, every beat, and every pratfall with precision.
The story revolves around Aubrey and Louise Allington (Mike Nadajewski and Julia Course), a married couple who are deeply in debt and utterly incapable of curbing their lavish spending. Salvation seems at hand when Aubrey’s brother Henry dies in Mexico, leaving him a fortune. But there’s a catch: the inheritance will be immediately consumed by debt collectors. So, what’s their solution? Fake Aubrey’s death, then have him reappear disguised as his cousin George — the next heir in line.
Louise masterminds the plan, and Aubrey “dies” in a laboratory explosion, only to return in a false moustache and the borrowed identity. But of course, things unravel fast. The real George arrives — or so it seems — but he’s actually Henery (André Morin), the brother of Sprules the butler (Graeme Somerville), who having read the will, saw his opportunity to cash in.
And then comes the coup de théâtre: once Henery is exposed, Aubrey has to die a second time — this time by drowning —because his death was revealed as a fake, and because of this drowning, the first act ends with one of the great sight gags in Shaw Festival farce history.
Needless to say in the second act, more Georges pile into the house, including a woman claiming to be George’s estranged wife (Lindsay Wu), while the solicitor who first brought news of the will (Qasim Khan), and who assumes Aubrey is dead, begins making advances to the newly “widowed” Louise.
Other members of the cast include Miss Bonita Mullett (Nehassaiu deGannes), Aubrey’s imperturbable aunt, Simpson the saucy maid (Marla McLean), and Giles (Ron Kennell) the dimwitted gardener with bad timing, not to mention George Maitland (Sepehr Reybod) who may or may not be the real thing.
Mike Nadajewski, as Aubrey, is one of the great farceurs of the Canadian stage. His physical agility, vocal control, and sheer comic stamina carry the entire production, and he never falters. His timing is immaculate, his character shifts are crisp, and he lands every punch line. The ensemble around him is just as tight, with every actor falling perfectly into place. The chemistry, the responsiveness, the relentless momentum — it’s all there.
Holmes directs with an expert hand, finding just the right balance between manic energy and surgical articulation. As anyone who understands farce knows, you can’t play chaos unless it’s choreographed like ballet. Holmes understands that implicitly, and the result is a production that feels wild, but is clearly the product of rigorous discipline and razor-sharp design.
Judith Bowden’s sets and costumes are a dream. She transforms the Royal George stage into an opulent 1920s drawing room — richly decorated and period-perfect, while still allowing the cast to fling themselves around with abandon. Her costumes are equally lush and loaded with detail, evoking the Jazz Age with a wink and a flourish. Andy Ballantyne’s original music adds a fresh, sparkling layer to the production — buoyant and playful, reinforcing the show’s nonstop rhythm.
And yes, there’s a thematic undercurrent beneath the silliness. As Holmes notes in the program, farces often comes with a somber edge. The Allingtons are a warning against middle-class materialism: two people who live far beyond their means, fending off creditors with denial and delusion. The stage itself reflects that — with unpaid bills literally strewn around the set, a clever visual metaphor for the chaos they’re trying to ignore.
This production of Tons of Money is riotously funny, brilliantly acted, beautifully designed, and staged with extraordinary control. It’s the kind of show that reminds you why the Shaw Festival has no rival when it comes to farce.