A Bunch of Amateurs

I have had the pleasure of visiting Lichfield Players on a number of occasions now, and I am really impressed with the amount of talent they have amongst them. I frequently see different names and faces from my previous visits, and this was no exception.

A Bunch of Amateurs tells the story of a fading Hollywood action hero, Jefferson Steele, who is keen to boost his flagging career, he arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard but a sleepy Suffolk village and the cast are a bunch of amateurs. Jefferson’s monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested by the enthusiastic amateur thespians - who are not averse to a spot of ego, vanity, and insecurity themselves. However, the play may be called A Bunch of Amateurs, but Lichfield Players performed with complete professionalism, every actor completely immersed in their own character.

Ian Davies played the arrogant American very convincingly, and his transformation towards the end, where he reignited his relationship with his daughter was very humbling to watch. Amanda Munden, who played the show director Dorothy, held the performance together extremely well, coming across very much at ease with her role of trying to please both Jefferson and the other members of the cast. Phil Shaw as Nigel, is the amateur equivalent to Jefferson, convinced that he should be the one playing King Lear, and leaves no-one in any doubt about how he feels. Niamh Mahon was definitely a slightly crazy Mary, who obviously has an infatuation with the American, she combines this ‘affection’ with a great delivery of humorous lines giving the audience plenty to laugh at. Hannah Lewitt gave a convincing performance as marketing director and physiotherapist Lauren. Handyman Denis, played by Mark Skett, was someone else who was a big fan of the American, Mark showed great timing with the delivery of his lines, and I particularly enjoyed the gag of the eye-gouging. Hannah Britnell played the part of Jessica, Jefferson’s daughter, and her feelings towards him were well displayed by Hannah, deep down there was always a love for him.

The set, as always, was well constructed and all scene changes happened smoothly, mainly in the darkness, without distracting from the action to follow. The Players have a very reliable and able technical team and they always provide effective props and effects, none more so than the sprinkler system which went off, soaking the actors…. excellent!

The play was very well directed by Robin Lewitt, which makes me return to my opening sentence regarding amount of talent in the group, as the plays I have seen have all been directed by different people.

Once again I had a very entertaining afternoon and look forward to my next visit.

Congratulations everyone!

 

 

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