Nathan Clarke and Allison McKenzie in Billionaire Inside Your Head [Rich Lakos]

WILL Lord’s debut play, The Billionaire Inside Your Head, examines the debilitating grip of OCD on one man and its corrosive effect on career and friendships.

Best friends Richie (Nathan Clarke) and Darwin (Ashley Margolis) work in a basement office sorting files. They’re marooned in the lowest tier of a debt collection agency run by Darwin’s mum, Nicole (Allison McKenzie), tracing clients.

Richie is ambitious. He idolises Elon Musk and dreams of becoming a billionaire. Darwin is his opposite, more interested in lighting a spliff than climbing the ranks.

But Richie is plagued by a relentless inner voice that suggests inappropriate thoughts and sabotages his decisions. That voice – played by McKenzie – opens the play with a series of uncomfortable questions directed at the audience.

She appears throughout, like a lifestyle guru, alternately interrogating us or manipulating Richie’s actions.

He hopes Nicole will make him a junior associate. Instead, she gives the role to her son, sending Richie into a downward spiral of self-destructive behaviour. He fantasises about murdering his friend or fleeing to LA to make his fortune.

It takes time to untangle the various strands of Lord’s beguiling drama.

The Voice’s interaction with the audience boldly conveys the mental torment of an OCD sufferer, but it’s a gamble – more tonal variation in the writing might have tempered McKenzie’s deliberately abrasive presence.

Anna Ledwich’s assured production draws strong performances. James Whiteside’s lighting and Max Pappenheim’s sound are stunning, heightening the tension.

Lord shows great promise, but his play would benefit from a tighter focus to fully realise its potential.

Until October 25
hampsteadtheatre.com/