The Bookies: A look at the colourful, grim world of gambling

Michael Burnett is co-writer of this month's new play from Dundee Rep Theatre, The Bookies. He worked in the gambling industry for 20 years and has a personal stake in its subject matter.

In a bookie's you get all walks of life, rich, poor, male, female, all ethnicities, and you have to be on guard because you deal with con men. It can be a social setting, a club for old people.

Burnett wrote the play with his writing partner Joe McCann. Both are working class writers. They studied at the University of Bedfordshire. McCann has previously created work for the Edinburgh Fringe and on attachment to the Traverse Theatre. He's currently working on a play set in Hungary. The play was originally a TV pilot, but the lecturer at their university didn't like it.

The play is about gambling addiction. It's a dark comedy set in a bookie's. Irene Macdougall, Barrie Hunter, Ewan Donald and Benjamin Osugo are starring. The play has gone through close to a hundred drafts. Douglas Maxwell was dramaturg and Sally Reid was director. The main character is Pat, the shop manager.

The Bookies is a look at the colourful, grim world of gambling. Pat is the main character. John is trying to sort out his life and figure out what he's going to do with himself. Harry is addicted to the FOBT machine. Michelle is area manager.

The play is set in a high street bookie's. The FOBT machine plays a key role in the play. It's an ongoing pandemic in high-street betting industry. Before the government capped the maximum amount of money a player could spend on a FobT, they were very popular.

The Bookies is a look at the grim reality of gambling. Burnett works in the industry and has seen many sad stories about people losing their entire wages in a matter of minutes. He can't give them a refund.

The Bookies is a dark comedy about the dark side of gambling. The play is also a warning about FOBT machines and gambling companies. The cast describes the play as quickfire, witty and disturbing. It is not a bad representation of the bookies.

The Bookies is at Dundee Rep Theatre from Tuesday May 3 until Saturday May 21. It's a look at the colourful, grim world of gambling. The National Gambling Helpline gives confidential information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling problems. The Bookie’s is a play by Burke”s Gagarin Way and director Sally Reid“s last play for the Rep, the Jim Maclean biography Smile.