A BUNCH of Amateurs at Droitwich’s Norbury Theatre was anything but as this compact, close-knit cast of seven delivered a fantastic night’s entertainment.
The show centres on fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steel who arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford in a bid to boost his flagging career.
But, rather than the birthplace of the Bard, he finds himself in a sleepy Suffolk village where an enthusiastic ‘bunch of amateurs’ are trying to save their theatre.
This is ‘a play of two halves’ with the majority of the comedy in the scene-setting, the mix-up revelation and the clash of contrasting characters and cultures.
After the break, there is still plenty of humour but more touching moments take centre stage as the cast embark on their individual journeys.
John Birchley was brilliant as pompous – and sometimes scheming – Nigel, Jenny Flannigan was hilarious as the besotted, excitable and over-exhuberant Mary and Jane Huxley was excellent as the stead-fast, reliable and firm Dorothy.
James Cowlishaw’s share of funny scenarios and one-liners as lovable jobsworth Denis were played very well and Kate Powell portrayed perfectly the mix of sympathy and sarcasm in Jefferson’s daughter Jessica.
Lauren Bell was a ‘Joy’ to watch as the sponsor’s wife and played a key role in the funniest visual scene of the night (and the most pivotal for the plot) as the marvellous masseur got to work on Jefferson’s strained muscles.
But the performance of the show went to Tam Weir as – once Hollywood A-lister – Jefferson Steel. He took the audience on the star’s journey from sterotypical brash American to well-respected Shakespearean actor.
You could see the cast were having plenty of fun on the stage as they took on what can be a difficult task – acting a character who is acting a character.
You also get the impression this play by Nick Newman and Ian Hislop is a dream for the performers – they get to test both their comedic and Shakespeare abilities all in one show (without having to learn the entirety of the Bard’s often long texts).
The directing team of Mike Matthews (who led the productions prior to its original 2020 time-slot before the first Covid lockdown), Anne Lane and John Birchley have done a fantastic job in pulling together a very enjoyable production.
It would have been nice to see a larger crowd on the opening night but hopefully with plenty more performances still to go – and once word gets around about how good A Bunch of Amateurs is – this production will get the packed out audiences it deserves.
This is laugh-along feelgood theatre and provides an evening of escapism away from the doom and gloom of energy and fuel hikes and international conflict.
Performances take place at 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2 and next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 7, 8 and 9.
Click here for times, tickets and more.
