A Bunch of Amateurs

Burley Theatre Group played to a full audience last night as they presented a very familiar story- an amateur group struggling with casting, rehearsals, costumes and props while trying to raise enough money to keep their theatre going. A Bunch of Amateurs by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman has been popular with community theatre groups for many years for exactly that same reason- relatability. But this play adds a couple of extra twists to the plot: a fading Hollywood star and a misunderstood place name, Stratford St John.

The directors Debz Allis and Liz Miles got us in the mood with a Health and Safety Announcement in rhyme. Kathy Jackman as the Fool then occupied the space for most of the play making occasional relevant comments in Shakespearean blank verse.  Her outfit was tremendous and her singing was very much appreciated by the audience.

Damian Burras took on the demanding role of Lear and Jefferson, complete with a Californian tan and a convincing outfit reminiscent of a young Mel Gibson without the hair!  His American accent was authentic and he made a credible Lear in the final scene. Lisa Jones-Tinsley was his landlady, Mary and daughter Regan. Her Mary was deliberately dotty and star struck and her constant recollections of this ‘macho man’ in all the wrong films was very amusing.

Amanda Shaw made a really delightful Dorothy. Dorothy is written as the closest to a real warm, relatable human being and Amanda gave us this in spades. We really warmed to her struggles, her resilience and her ultimate affection for the exasperating Jefferson. There was real chemistry in their scenes together, and the relationship was very believable. Bernie Hughes impressed as Lauren with her Antipodean accent and her effervescent delivery. She brought great energy to the stage.

Supporting actors Robert Edenborough and Tony Clegg brought humour in very different ways. Robert, as Nigel was totally type-cast and had the bearing of this pompous has-been amateur actor with nothing left but a sonorous voice and a good memory for lines, while Tony Clegg was given most of the funny lines in the play crammed into one small role. His actions with the various ‘eyes’ was hilarious. I’ll never eat a marshmallow again without thinking of him pulling them out on forks!

Lauren Varley was a sympathetic Jessica who has been frustrated all her life by a wayward film star father whom she loves. Their relationship develops in these new circumstances as they finally really get to know each other. She looked stunning as Cordelia in the final scene and spoke the Shakespearean lines with passion. Vikki Wood and Gill Stead played the journalists and added to the Shakespearean scenes.

A multi-scene play like this is always difficult to manage on an amateur stage. There was good use of the alternative spaces in the hall. The Fool up on the balcony as a distraction during scene changes worked really well. The chase scene, the journalists, the entry of Jessica and Denis on his mobility scooter were all great additions to the production, but I felt that the stage space could have been laid out differently in order to speed up the production and avoid so much use of the curtains for resets. Well done to Vikki Wood for some excellent costumes and to all the backstage tech and crew.

Your audience had a wonderful evening. There were lots of laughs and some really great performances. Thank you for once again inviting me and I look forward to your Christmas production.

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