Frauds Review: The Talented Suranne Jones Delivers Her Finest Performance in A Triumphant Heist Drama

What would you do if your most reckless companion from your youth got back in touch? What if you were dying of cancer and felt completely unburdened? What if you were plagued by remorse for landing your friend in the clink a decade back? If you were the one she got sent to prison and you were only being released to succumb to illness in her care? What if you had been a almost unstoppable pair of con artists who retained a stash of disguises left over from your glory days and a deep desire for one last thrill?

These questions and beyond form the core of Frauds, a new drama featuring Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker, presents to viewers on a wild, thrilling six-part ride that follows two conwomen bent on executing a final scheme. Similar to a recent project, Jones developed this series with her collaborator, and it retains similar qualities. Just as a suspense-driven structure served as a backdrop to the psychodramas gradually unveiled, here the grand heist Jones’ character Roberta (Bert) has meticulously arranged in prison since her diagnosis is a means to explore a deep dive into companionship, deceit, and affection in all its forms.

Bert is placed under the supervision of Sam (Whittaker), who lives nearby in the Spanish countryside. Remorse prevented her from ever visiting Bert, but she has stayed close and avoided scams without her – “Bit crass with you in prison for a job I messed up.” And to prepare for Bert’s, albeit short, life on the outside, she has bought her plenty of new underwear, because there are many ways for women companions to offer contrition and one is the acquisition of “a big lady-bra” after a decade of underwire-free prison-issue rubbish.

Sam wants to carry on maintaining her peaceful existence and look after Bert till the end. Bert has other ideas. And when your daftest friend devises alternative schemes – well, you often find yourself going along. Their old dynamic gradually reasserts itself and her strategies are underway by the time she reveals the complete plan for the heist. The series experiments with chronology – to good rather than eye-rolling effect – to present key scenes initially and then the explanations. So we observe the duo slipping jewellery and watches from affluent attendees at a funeral – and bagging a golden crown of thorns because why wouldn’t you if you could? – before removing their hairpieces and reversing their funeral attire to transform into vibrant outfits as they stride out and down the church steps, awash with adrenaline and assets.

They need the assets to finance the operation. This entails recruiting a forger (with, unbeknown to them, a gambling problem that is likely to draw unwanted attention) in the form of magician’s assistant Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington), who has the technical know-how to help them remove and replace the target painting (a famous surrealist piece at a major museum). Additionally, they recruit art enthusiast Celine (Kate Fleetwood), who specialises in works by artists depicting female subjects. She is equally merciless as all the criminals the forger and their funeral robbery are drawing towards them, including – most dangerously – their old boss Miss Take (Talisa Garcia), a modern-day Fagin who employed them in frauds for her from their teens. She did not take well to the pair’s assertion of themselves as independent conwomen so unresolved issues remain in that area.

Unexpected developments are layered between deepening revelations about Bert and Sam’s history, so you experience the full enjoyment of a Thomas Crown Affair-ish caper – executed with no shortage of brio and admirable willingness to skate over rampant absurdities – alongside a captivatingly detailed portrait of a friendship that is possibly as toxic as Bert’s cancer but equally difficult to eradicate. Jones gives perhaps her finest and multifaceted portrayal yet, as the damaged, resentful Bert with her lifetime pursuit of excitement to divert attention from the gnawing pain within that has nothing to do with her medical condition. Whittaker stands with her, delivering excellent acting in a slightly less interesting part, and together with the writers they craft a fantastically stylish, emotionally rich and highly insightful work of art that is inherently empowering without preaching and in every way a triumph. More again, soon, please.