It premièred at The Churchill Theatre, Bromley, London, England, in 1994, followed by a successful two-year run in the West End.
He knows very well that all the money in the briefcase must be part of some criminal transaction, so from a moral point of view he has no bad conscience whatsoever.
Of course Henry thinks this is about the money, and a whole series of (deliberately) mistaken identities ensues, which also includes Vic and Betty, who are introduced to Davenport as relatives of the Perkinses on their way home to Australia.
At the same time, "Mr Nasty"—the man whose briefcase Henry accidentally took on the underground—is killed by "Mr Big"—the man he had criminal dealings with—and thrown into the Thames near Putney Bridge—which is quite close to Fulham --, together with Henry's briefcase (which contains, among other things, a cheese and chutney sandwich).
"Mr Big", a Dutchman who does not speak English, keeps phoning the Perkinses but remains monosyllabic throughout his calls ("Brerfcurse").
In the meantime, another policeman arrives at the Perkinses': It is Slater (who does not know Davenport, neither personally nor by name), who has come to inform Jean Perkins that her husband's body has been fished out of the river (really Mr.
This leads to yet another series of mistaken identities on top of the first one, with Henry Perkins—who is supposed to be dead, waiting to be identified—posing as his brother Freddy, also from Australia.
In the course of events, Davenport turns out to be a bent copper who demands ten percent of the money for keeping his mouth shut.
After Slater has arrested the Dutchman and led him away, Henry willy-nilly readjusts to the old status quo and wants to have his birthday dinner after all.