A Bunch of Amateurs

“A Bunch of Amateurs” is a Comedy play written by Ian Hyslop and Nick Newman based on their 2008 film of the same name, which boasted a cast of British theatre royalty, that included Burt Reynolds, Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton and Samantha Bond to name but a few, and this production from Mawdesley Amateur Dramatic Society “directed by Hilda McAughey, efficiently brought the story from the screen to the stage, providing a very engaging evening’s entertainment for the appreciative audience in Mawdesly Village Hall. The play centres around a group of amateur actors called the, Stratford Players who are based in the Suffolk village of Stratford Saint John. Sadly they are facing the loss of their community theatre, a converted barn, unless they can make a substantial  sum of money, so in desperation they decide to try and get a big star to perform in their next play which is to be King Lear. To their surprise and astonishment they get an acceptance from ageing washed up Hollywood action hero, Jefferson Steel, who is finding it hard to come to terms with his diminishing career and is also having problems with his daughter an aspiring  actress who isn’t  speaking to him. 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, his agent has misunderstood, and he finds that he has been booked to play the lead in the "Stratford Players" production of Lear instead.   

 The local villagers could be said to be a motley crew, they are over the moon and some what star struck initially at having a fading Hollywood actor in their mist. Steel was played by Findlay Robertson, who had a real presence on stage, producing the self important selfish character with no manners needed for this role, as Steel thinks himself too big a star to work with this bunch of amateurs and hands them a diva type list of demands.However, Dorothy, the Director of the play, who was excellently played with just the right calm but authoritative  temperament by Debbie Wells, manages to conjure up some comedic items  to meat this list of demands, such as a child’s scooter in place of the limousine requested. Other entertaining performances came from Samantha Quinn as Mary Plunkett ,who tries very hard to make Jefferson take notice of her as she sees an opportunity for a relationship. Pete Rogers is a rather pompous Nigel Dewbury, who thinks he is a better actor than Jefferson and should be playing Lear instead, Jonathan Lyons was odd job man and sometimes actor, Dennis Dubbins, and Olivia Lloyd was the sponsors wife and masseuses Lauren Bell. But things begin to get a little out of hand when there are sexual and relationship misunderstandings, resulting in some big fallings out, and things are made even more complicated by the arrival of Jefferson’s estranged daughter, Jessica, nicely played by Molly Rogers which gives an opportunity for a subplot about her relationship with her father. I would also like to mention some small cameo performances from three young actors namely Erin Lee-Smith, Alice Kay and George Gottig as the journalist stalking Jefferson.

All the cast worked very hard together in this wordy play which also includes rather allot of the dialogue from Shakespeare’s King Lear. Generally, diction and clarity of words was excellent, and there were lots of very good comedy moments with good comic timing, enjoyed very much by the audience, but to be constructive, just a couple of observations, when speaking in an accent it is important that it should be maintained all the time. also, a number of prompts were taken which did affect the pace of the play at times and pace is very important when performing comedy.

There was a very well built set which represented the barn that had been converted into a theatre, and as is usual from this society was very effective, making good use of the facilities and stage area provided by the venue and along with applicable props, an efficient sound and lighting plot, fitting and sometimes colourful costumes added to the feel and success of the play, well done to all backstage crew   

  In the end this is a tale of redemption as there is a change in Jefferson Steel who in the end is happy to perform with these actors who have become his friends, as he realises in terms of talent he is no better than them and he is also reconciled with his estranged daughter.

 Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this entertaining play to the stage, 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 an enjoyable evening and look forward to seeing you again soon.

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