{"id":462,"date":"2020-06-18T11:11:01","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T11:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/?page_id=462"},"modified":"2024-10-02T18:50:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-02T18:50:11","slug":"a-bunch-of-amateurs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/a-bunch-of-amateurs\/","title":{"rendered":"A BUNCH OF AMATEURS"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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WRITTEN BY <\/strong>IAN HISLOP & NICK NEWMAN<\/strong><\/h2>

DIRECTED BY <\/strong>MIKE CANNING\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>OCTOBER\u00a0 2018<\/strong><\/h4><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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A BUNCH OF AMATEURS written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman originated from the 2008 British film of the same name. The film , staring Burt Reynolds, Imelda Staunton and Derek Jacobi, has now taken on a new lease life with the stage play and is proving very popular with its audiences.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s the scenario \u2026. A somewhat faded, possibly even washed up, vainglorious Hollywood actor comes to England as his agent has managed to get him the ultimate acting role.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s to play Lear in Shakespeare\u2019s powerful play. Not only that, he\u2019s playing the part in Stratford! <\/span>It doesn\u2019t get much better does it as an opportunity to revive one\u2019s career? King Lear at Stratford, now that\u2019s something to relish.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s just one small problem. Unfortunately his agent is either unaware of English culture, or his geographical knowledge of the country leaves something to be <\/span>desired. The Stratford in question is sadly not \u2018Upon Avon\u2019, <\/span>it\u2019s just a little less well known.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0<\/p>

Stratford St John is a small village tucked away in the deep county of Suffolk. There is no Swan Theatre, but a little less magnificent local barn which has seen better times. The barn is nevertheless less much loved by the local Am Dram group who work hard to keep it open.<\/p>

This motley bunch of enthusiasts are an interesting group of personalities, all with their own individuality, and their own hang ups! Added to this \u2018Bunch of Amateurs\u2019 Jefferson\u2019s daughter arrives. Sadly he has put his career before her interests, and now in her late teens, she\u2019s about to make him pay for the lack of attention.<\/p>

The Stratford Players see their production of King Lear as a last opportunity to save their theatre. Engaging the services of a\u2019Big Name\u2019 was thought to be a way of putting bums on seats.<\/p>

Sadly Jefferson Steele is a bit of a last resort. He\u2019s the only person they could find, and the job at Stratford St John the only job Steele\u2019s agent could find this overrated actor.<\/p>

Steele arrives with all the expected bluster and hype. He proves totally inept as a Shakespearean actor …. at least at first. But as the plot unravels, with all its complications, maybe, just maybe, this fading star will revive his career, and more importantly find himself as a person? Perchance to dream.<\/p>

So, as the Bard would say ….. play on!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMORE AMATEUR PHOTOS!<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A BUNCH OF AMATEURS : NODA\u00a0<\/span>REVIEW<\/span><\/strong><\/p>

I have seen this play a number of times now and I really enjoy it.\u00a0 It is so cleverly written, showing the quirks of human nature, the weaknesses, and strengths.\u00a0 It is also quite tricky to stage.\u00a0 There are many scenes which need to show that time has passed.\u00a0 The temptation exists to show a complete\u00a0change of clothing at each scene change.\u00a0 This can make a break in proceedings during which the audience’s\u00a0involvement in the story drifts off.\u00a0 CODS were fortunate in that they use a school hall to perform their plays.\u00a0 The acting area is wide which enabled them to preset the different scenes, the barn, the guest house, and the bedroom.\u00a0 They also kept costume\u00a0changes to the minimum.\u00a0 A shirt or top or some other clothing was changed.\u00a0 This was quite sufficient, after all in real life we quite often wear something two days running, it keeps down the washing!\u00a0 The auditorium was used as the journey from guest house to the barn.\u00a0 Dialogue continued during this journey and it gave precious moments for the stage crew to do whatever was necessary to effect the scene change.\u00a0 During some scene changes,\u00a0 appropriate”Elizabethan” sounding music was played on the keyboard and recorder by Mike and Gillian.\u00a0 By these various measures what usually is a difficulty with this play did not even present itself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Live theatre can be a risky business.\u00a0 It doesn’t matter how long the rehearsal period or how prepared you are, things can happen.\u00a0 On the evening I was there I was aware that Jefferson was sitting somewhat in the shadows while Dorothy was talking to him.\u00a0 \u00a0An interesting bit of direction I thought.\u00a0 No, A fuse had gone but the way it was dealt with was neat.\u00a0 There would have been many in the audience who would not have even\u00a0noticed.<\/span><\/p>

It was interesting to see Jefferson, the aging, somewhat faded movie star, played as someone who, although showing little regard for his personal appearance, still exuded the ego and self-belief\/obsession of a star in his heyday.\u00a0 This brought a great deal of truth to the performance, a lovely interpretation.\u00a0 \u00a0Jessica, his teenage daughter, cynical beyond her years, at least when it came to understanding her father, was played by a young lady who looked right and acted the role very convincingly.\u00a0 Although well used to musicals I understand she is comparatively new to the world of drama.\u00a0 I would expect her time will be very full with both plays and musicals in the future.\u00a0 \u00a0 Denis was played by a young man adopting a Bristol accent.\u00a0 The softness of the speech together with the measured mannerisms helped to promote the appearance of a rather simple character.\u00a0 Nicely done, the accent was a good choice.\u00a0 Nigel, so steeped in Shakespeare, struggles to accept Jefferson, he feels that the role of King Lear should be his.\u00a0 Convincingly played by an actor whose voice and presence would indeed be at home in a play by the Bard.\u00a0 Lauren, the wife of the sponsor, initially not involved in King Lear but clearly would love to be, is also a very able physio and massages Jefferson’s aching back.\u00a0 This almost causes the canceling of the play.\u00a0 A pivotal role played with empathy.\u00a0\u00a0Dorothy, the director of the players, is trying to hold the group together against the odds.\u00a0 A strong person but also a kindly one and both elements of the personality showed well.\u00a0 Mary, the owner of the guest house, falls for Jefferson but is too obvious and persistent in her advances and Jefferson backs away.\u00a0 This was played with energy and commitment.\u00a0 The actress playing the journalist also prompted, this can be a vital part of the production and indeed was needed on a couple of occasions.\u00a0 It was done well and\u00a0allowed the story to continue almost without interruption.<\/span><\/p>

The set was simple and unfussy.\u00a0 The costumes were what one would expect a bunch of amateurs to be wearing.\u00a0 \u00a0Unusually Jefferson was dressed very casually in sweatpants and a tee shirt, it worked, it helped to show his disregard of others.\u00a0 \u00a0Lighting and sound were good.\u00a0 Diction was good, every word could be heard.\u00a0 Stage management was in very good hands and coupled with careful planning of the scene changes enabled the audience to enjoy the evening without interruption.<\/span><\/p>

This was a great evening’s entertainment much enjoyed by the audience.<\/span><\/p>

Joyce Pomeroy<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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WRITTEN BY IAN HISLOP & NICK NEWMAN DIRECTED BY MIKE CANNING\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0OCTOBER\u00a0 2018 A BUNCH OF AMATEURS written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman originated from the 2008 British film of the same name. The film , staring Burt Reynolds, Imelda Staunton and Derek Jacobi, has now taken on a new lease […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-462","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5495,"href":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/462\/revisions\/5495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/codsonline.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}