A Bunch of Amateurs

Once again CADOS did what they do best and entertained us with their production of the comedy play  “A Bunch of Amateurs” written by Ian Hyslop and Nick Newman and is based on their 2008 film of the same name, which stared  Burt Reynolds, the film  also had a number of British theatre royalty in the cast, which included,Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton and Samantha Bond to name but a few, and this production “directed by,  Barbara Wilcox brilliantly brought the story from the screen to the stage. The play centres around a group of amateur actors called the, Stratford Players based in the Suffolk village of Stratford Saint John. Sadly their community theatre, a converted barn, will have to close and the land will be developed unless they can make a substantial  sum of money to save it. They have already tried a number of fund raising events so in desperation  they come up with a plan to try and get a big star to perform in their next play which happens to be Shakespeare’s King Lear. They are astonished when they get an acceptance from ageing washed up Hollywood action hero, Jefferson Steele, who is finding it hard to come to terms with his diminishing career and the fact that he is to old to play the action hero anymore. He comes to England expecting to play William Shakespeare’s King Lear at the RSC in Stratford -upon -Avon, unfortunately there has been a mix up, and he finds that he has been booked to play the lead in the "Stratford Players" production of Lear instead.   
At first The Players  are  some what star struck at having a Hollywood actor in their mist. However Steele is self important and selfish with no manners and thinks himself too big a star to work with this bunch of amateurs. Barry Ashworth in the role of Jefferson Steele produced an outstanding characterisation of an ageing movie star who doesn’t want to admit to himself he is basically washed up and is to old to be an action hero, his American accent was spot on and maintained throughout the production. Sue Hilton as Dorothy, King Lear’s Director, was brilliant in this role demonstrating  great comic timing and was an excellent foil to Barry’s character. The rather pompous Nigel Dewbury, who thinks he is a better actor than Jefferson and everyone else in the company was  played with lots of  aplomb by David Walker who was just right for this role. There was also a very entertaining  performance from Moyra Dobson Welch  as  players member Mary Plunkett ,who runs the local Bed and Breakfast and is Jefferson’s landlady, Mary is also very enamoured with the Hollywood star. Jefferson tells Dorothy if he is going to stay he has list of demands which were very diva type and utterly preposterous, however, Dorothy with the help of other members of the cast manage to conjure up some comedic items hoping to teach him a lesson as well as having a laugh. One of the items was a mobility scooter in place of a limousine, the scooter belonged to the mother of  set builder, odd job man and some time actor Denis Dobbins played by the versatile Alan Levesley, who had some very funny lines which were delivered with excellent timing and expertise.  Leonie English was the sponsors wife and physiotherapist Lauren Bell, the scene where she is giving Jefferson a massage to help with a back injury was really very funny. Things become  more complicated with  the arrival of Jefferson’s estranged daughter, Jessica, an aspiring actress who was very well played  by Sara Worswick, this gave an opportunity for a subplot about Jessica’s relationship with her father which came across as very believable. However, things begin to get a little out of hand when there are sexual and relationship misunderstandings, resulting in some big fallings out, In the end this is a tale of redemption when Jefferson Steel realises that the actors have become his friends, as he realises as an actor he is no better than this Bunch of Amateurs and he is happy to perform with them, he is also reconciled with his daughter. 
  I would also like to mention the six chorus members who came on stage between scenes and sang some very tunefully songs applicable to the plot in a Folk style accompanied by backing tracts, this gave that extra something to the play.

All the cast worked very hard together in this wordy play which also includes rather a lot  of the dialogue from Shakespeare’s King Lear, generally diction and clarity of words was excellent, and there were lots of great comedy moments with excellent comic timing all round, which was enjoyed very much by the audience,  but just a constructive point it was a little difficult to hear the dialogue on a few occasions usually when the cast were talking to each other while sitting round the table at Mary’s B&B
There was a very well built set representing the barn theatre, making good use of stage area and along with applicable props, and  very efficient sound and lighting, added to the authenticity  of the play, there was also a good film at the beginning of the play of an interview with Jefferson Steele when he had just arrived at the airport from America. Costumes  were just right as usual and colourful which added to the feel and success of the play, well done to all backstage crew set designers  builders and technical crew    
 Congratulations to everyone involved in  this entertaining production, there must have been a great deal of hard work involved in bringing it to the stage. Thank you very much for inviting us, we had a brilliant evening.

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