This sharp comedy set in fictional Stratford St John follows the story of the Stratford players, an amateur theatre company, who are facing impending closure of their theatre by the council due to economic difficulties and must come up with a solution, pretty quickly, to raise publicity and funds to continue their shared passion: theatre. Originally a 2008 movie, written by Nick Newman and Ian Hislop, before becoming a stage play, it explores the blood, grit and determination and tongue-in-cheek hilarity of amateur theatre with its divas and dramas and quirky members and disparate range of talent all merging with a shared enthusiasm to enter another portal of escapist fiction.
To solve the impending doom, they recruit a fading Hollywood ‘star’, Jefferson Steele to star in their production of King Lear. His agent cons him into believing it’s the real Stratford-on-Avon and he believes he’s going to be performing with the RSC which leads to his disbelief and hilarious meltdown. Jefferson, played by Shaun Penton, looked exactly right with the right level of self love, ego and megalomania. This man’s character would buy tickets to see himself but Penton fell a little short on the inconsistent American accent. His acting was exactly right and he captured the journey of Steele as he arrived, cocksure, struggled with the Shakespearean pentameter and then reconnected with his estranged daughter whilst realising that real acting was about passion and love of the theatre and not just fame and fortune. His connection with the play’s director, Dorothy, played confidently and with sensitivity by Hayley Johnson was great with good connection and you saw their relationship journey as she massages Steele’s ego and then coerces him to do everything to extract a fine Lear from him in the final scenes. A very fine performance and she had some of the funniest lines in the play when Jeff demands a personal trainer and dietician and she exclaims, ‘That’s me. Walk more and eat less, fatty!’ Spot on comedy timing.
As a seasoned Am Drammer, I recognised all the interplays and relationships of mismatched social strata in an AmDram company. The aspiring, failed performers who don’t realise they’re not quite as good as they think they are but are still hanging on to reviewers' quotes and quoting them word for word for years to come. Nigel, played by Chesney Talbot, the pompous solicitor and would be King Lear showed us the upper-middle-class player who longs to be recognised for his talent but always fails to hit the mark. Talbot was sincerely passionate and arrogant simultaneously and hit the comedy on the head. He was matched by Tracey Parker’s geeky Mary who was in awe of the visiting star but was overlooked. She had some belting one-liners and her timing was beautiful. I loved the Spanish outfit when she declared her disinterest for Steele. Ole! She reminded me very much of Alice Tinker’s character in 'The Vicar Of Dibley'. A well delivered characterisation, meek and mousey then transitioning into an angry, woman scorned.
Completing the Stratford Players and multi-role playing actors in King Lear, due to the lack of cast available, was handyman Denis, played by Gareth Jones, who did a sterling support job. His scene when he brings his mother’s Motability scooter on stage, blasting his horn to meet the star’s whims and demands was fabulous.
Lauren Bell, as the company’s sponsor and PR woman was played by the glamorous Kathryn Sinclair who massaged Steel’s back very professionally leading to a false accusation of inpropriety causing her husband to pull the plug on the sponsorship. Lastly, Jefferson Steel’s daughter, Jessica arrives unannounced from the states during Act 1. A very beautiful Mia Chowdhuri gave us the petulant, stroppy, spoilt teenager with aplomb and looked like her parents could have been millionnaires with her thoroughbred air and convincing performance but she too did struggle to maintain the American accent.
The play was directed by Seb Lassandro who showed a good understanding of the text and extracted some great performances from his cast. There were some well thought-out transitional scenes with light fades and sound from Andy Gelsthorpe which also enhanced a well performed play. The set was an open stage of the rehearsals throughout with a rear rostra’d stage used to show the final scenes of King Lear in its performance. Although it was opening night, the play had pace, Jessica in particularly really drove some of the pace and energy in her scenes and no major awkward moments. It was a light hearted, chuckle to yourself and laugh-out-loud evening of self-deprecating AmDrammers doing Shakespeare!
Reviewer - Kathryn Gorton
on - 16/5/19
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