Stone Revellers have pulled off a crowd-pleasing trick with their high-energy production of “A Bunch of Amateurs.”
The play centres on a fantastically self-centred Hollywood actor (or rather, action star) “Jefferson Steele” who comes to England for two reasons – first, no-one will hire him in Hollywood, and secondly because he is under the mistaken impression that he is going to star as King Lear at Stratford-upon-Avon.
But there is, as his unseen agent knew, a catch – it is Stratford, just a Stratford in Suffolk, and it’s an am-dram outfit that’s in deep financial trouble, not the Royal Shakespeare Company. Entirely predictable, and entirely enjoyable hi-jinks ensue, with culture clash, cultural misunderstandings and story arcs of redemption (there is hugging and learning).
The cast is uniformly excellent – the performers know kind of play they are in and deliver laughs and pathos when due. There is unrequited love (or lust), (perfectly pitched) scenery-chewing, sight gags and a brilliantly-staged sword fight, with much else in between. The leads – Sean Galloghly as Jefferson and Harri Capernaros as Dorothy – are especially good, but there are no weak links whatsoever in the cast. The same goes for the crew – stage design, lighting , directing and, well, everything achieve their desired effects.
While the performances of cast and crew are exemplary, the play itself, co-written by Ian Hislop (editor of Private Eye) is quite long (the performance we went to clocked in at almost 3 hours, with a 20 minute interval) and could have done with a bit of judicious pruning. However, nobody in the packed audience on Friday night seemed to mind, and there was prolonged and well-deserved applause for a highly entertaining night.
The Stone Revellers’ September production, of “How to Disappear Completely and Never be Found,” plays at The Crown Wharf Theatre, Stone 10-13th September 2025
1 comment
Simon DAVIES
I went last Saturday evening. The performance played to a nearly packed theatre. It was a great performance at an excellent local venue we are lucky to have ! Thank you .