A Bunch Of Amateurs

This was a very funny play showing the difficulties of a theatre company trying to survive: in this instance by contracting a celebrity star to play  the part of King Lear. Unfortunately this star from Hollywood thought he was coming to Stratford upon Avon not Stratford in Suffolk and the fun began. Lynne Hurst as Dorothy had the task of casting and directing ‘King Lear’ and keeping all the factions together and how well she delivered - accent, control of dialogue, stage presence were all maintained. Peter Tomassi as the aging celebrity Jefferson Steel, revelled in the role - larger than life, contradictory and dramatic. As well as playing in roles for ‘King Lear’, the cast had their own identities and for ‘King Lear’ roles had to be doubled up.  The ‘go to’ man for practical help Paul Enever created his own moments of humour as Dennis Dubbins and Kate Halliday is the star struck Mary Plunkett who provided Jefferson with room and breakfast. Her championing of him disappeared when she misinterpreted his behaviour with another. She dealt with the change beautifully. Craig Potter displayed a real grasp of his ambitious character Nigel and developed the role with some nuanced deliveries and getting lots of laughs. As the link to the company’s backers, the character of Lauren Bell was well interpreted by Jessica Bowman, while Chiara Loia gave her own twist to the role of Jessica Steel, the star’s daughter, helping to create the moving climax to the play. The staging of the rehearsal premises with a projection of the inside of the theatre worked well. The props dressed the stage convincingly. The unaccompanied sung interludes were true and telling yet still, I felt, an interruption to the action. The pace of the dialogue never faltered, accents were well maintained and space well utilised. The whole entertaining evening was deserving of a fuller audience. Seasoned players were giving their all.  Congratulations to all. 

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