A bunch of Amateurs

What a fun evening I had watching Too Friendly Theatre Company perform the comedy play “A Bunch of Amateurs” written by Ian Hyslop of Private Eye fame and being a panellist on Have I Got News for You, and Nick Newman. The two have worked together many times, most notably on Spitting Image, which ran on Sunday nights on ITV. The play was based on their 2008 film of the same name, which starred Burt Reynolds as ageing, and you might say washed up Hollywood action star Jefferson Steele. The film also included several actors in the cast considered to be British theatre royalty, such as Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton and Samantha Bond to name but a few

Set in the Suffolk village of Stratford Saint John the story centres around a group of amateur actors called the Stratford Players. They are desperately trying to find a substantial sum of money to save their converted barn theatre because the local Council are threatening to close it so they can develop the land, meaning it will be the end of the players. They have already tried several fund-raising events without success, when Dorothy the Director and leading force in the campaign to save the theatre produces an audacious desperate plan as a last resort, which is to try and find an A list star who is willing to perform in their next play, William Shakespeare’s King Lear, hoping it will ensure they get sponsorship to stage the play and bring in an audience.They don’t expect their plan to work so they are astonished  and shocked when they get an acceptance from Hollywood action hero, Jefferson Steele.Unfortunately, there had been a misunderstanding  and when Jefferson arrives he is horrified to find that he has been booked to play the lead in the "Stratford Amateur Players" production of Lear instead of playing King Lear at the RSC in Stratford -upon -Avon. Steele is ready to leave but his agent tells him that the only offer he has had lately is from the players. The truth is he is finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that he is too old to play the action hero anymore and that his career is diminishing in fact it is non existent. At first The Players are 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, so he tells the players if he is going to stay, he has a list of demands which need to be fulfilled. They are very diva like and utterly preposterous, however, Dorothy with the help of other members of the cast manage to conjure up some comedic items that meet these demands hoping to teach him a lesson as well as having a laugh. One of his demands was for a limousine to bring him to the theatre even though he was staying nearby, so they brought him a mobility scooter in its place which belonged to the mother of set builder the Village Mrs Fixit Denise. However, things begin to get a little out of hand when there are big misunderstandings about a fictitious  affair, resulting in a big falling out and upset, but finally everything is explained, and the truth comes out. In the end this is a tale of redemption when Jefferson Steel realises that his priorities in life are now very different because this Bunch of Amateurs are his true friends, they are good actors and he is very happy to perform with them as he also wants to save the theatre, he is also happily reconciled with his daughter.

Directed by: Cliff Gillies this was an outstanding funny production with an excellent cast who all worked together very well producing some wonderful comedic characters. Neil Woods was excellent in the role of Jefferson Steele; the transformation of his character during the production could be seen and was very believable, and his American accent was spot on and maintained throughout the production. Joanne Wasilew - as Dorothy, King Lear’s Director, and the moving force behind keeping the theatre alive was brilliant in this role demonstrating good comic timing with great facial expressions and was an excellent foil to Jefferson’s character. Cliff Gillies was wonderfully comedic as the pompous Nigel Dewbury, Solicitor and leading light of the Stratford Players or so he thinks, Nigel was upset about the casting of Jefferson as he was convinced he was the better actor and should have been playing the lead role of Lear, he looked for any opportunity to suggest that he could take over this role.There was also a very entertaining  performance from Susan Fryer  as Mary Plunkett ,who owns and runs the Rectory bed and breakfast and is Jefferson’s landlady.  Mary is very enamoured of the Hollywood star and confuses him with every action hero you can think of, except the one he actually played, much to Jefferson’s exasperation, which I found very funny, I have never noticed this before even though it isn’t the first time I have seen this play. The village Mrs Fixit Denise Dobbins - Played by Tracey Holmes-Smith Becomes Jefferson Steel’s “entourage of one. Tracey took over this role as it is usually a male character however, she fit in very well, Tracy had some very funny lines and did an excellent job in this role. Jen Johnson was just right in her role of Lauren Bell marketing executive, former physiotherapist and wife of sponsor Colin Bell owner of the local beer company. It was especially important that the players kept Lauren happy but unfortunately, she had the gift of walking into the theatre just as Jefferson was forgetting his lines or was in the middle of an argument or was complaining. The scene where she is giving Jefferson a massage to help with a back injury was very funny. Things become more complicated with the arrival of Jefferson’s estranged daughter, Jessica, an aspiring actor very well played by Sophie Parkes, Jessica Knows King Lear as she studied the play at High School and would love to take part in the play, but her father is against this which affects their already dysfunctional relationship even more. this gave an opportunity for a subplot about Jessica’s relationship with her father which came across as very believable. The reporters were played off stage by Helen Haygarth and Phil Fryer

All the cast worked very hard together in this wordy play which also includes dialogue from Shakespeare’s King Lear, which the cast performed very well. 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. It could be said that there are two plays in one in a “Bunch of Amateurs” which are both vastly different and the final scenes in this play allows us a brief experience of King Lear.

 I have to say I thought the venue lent itself excellently to this play as you felt you were sat in the auditorium of the barn itself and were part of the action. Due to the limited size of the performance area there was just one minimalistic set which looked like a barn wall with exits and entrances, the stage was created by: Mark Haygarth.The pace of the play moved at a very good pace and I was very impressed at the way that various boxes and props were used by the cast to set scenes which meant that each scene was changed very slickly. Costumes were exactly right for each character, and I noticed the hoodies the cast wore with The Stratford Players motif which I thought was a great idea, this all added to the feel and success of the play. Technical input was operated by Phil Fryer on sound with Helen Haygarth on lighting.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this excellent 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 me, I had a brilliant evening.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.