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Review:
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Society :
Loughton Amateur Dramatic Society
Production : A Bunch Of Amateurs
Date : 09/06/2023
Venue : Lopping Hall
Report by : Paul Daynes |
Thank you for inviting me to watch A Bunch of Amateurs, on a
warm but comfortable evening at
Lopping Hall. By this I mean the play by Hislop and Newman not
the cliched description of ….. well
you get it. Why has this phrase grown to mean something of poor
quality or badly organised? It
certainly didn’t apply to this production, to LADS or to most
local theatre, but it does make for a good title.
Set and Staging
Another cleverly designed LADS set which gave different static
areas for the barn and the Bed and Breakfast dining area. The
space taken for each was appropriate and more than adequate for
the number of actors on stage and allowed for smooth changes
between these two locations. The brick walls contrasted with the
B&B wallpaper and even the two doors positioned close
together didn’t confuse. The airport and physio areas were well
zoned with lighting and the reveal of the stage area behind the
curtains was fun to leave until partway into the play. The whole
set was well thought out and so congratulations to Stephen
Radley. One small comment was that when part of the playing area
is raised as high as the dining area was in Mary’s Bed and
Breakfast, you may want to consider sightlines from the
audience’s seated level. Being so high, much of the audience
couldn’t see anything on the table, therefore the tablets and
the takeaway for example, were talked about but not easily seen.
Also, when Jefferson was talking to Jessica the vase of flowers
on the front of the table blocked their faces for some of the
audience. When rehearsing on the flat these issues don’t exist
and only come to life when on the stage. If the actors had held
up the tablets and the takeaway a little before putting them on
the table that might have helped or don’t raise the playing area
quite so high. I wasn’t sure about the sprinkler high in the
wall until it went off and then I was laughing in admiration. I
do love a good slapstick effect.
Direction
I’ve seen this play before but, embarrassingly for me, never
really understood what was going on. The clarity that was given
in this production established the context and plot easily and
the scene at the airport when Jefferson lands gave me everything
I needed to sit back and watch the funny and ludicrous plot play
out. Adam Rabinowitz did an excellent job setting the actors in
the space provided and created some lovely pictures. The plea
from Dorothy for the £50,000 was well handled and fun for the
audience to feel part of the production. The positioning of
Jefferson and Denis stage right and left worked well for their
exchange and the mix of actors facing front or face-to-face gave
a variety of positions. The celebrity tantrum at the end of Act
1 was presented as Jefferson versus the others on stage which
looked good. Seeing and hearing David (and Archie) on the iPad
was a lovely touch and something I suspect was added in for this
production. The table centre stage for Act 1 was rather large
and took up a lot of the area pushing the actors into a small
space between the blue curtain and the chairs. The running
around the table was fun but if a smaller table had been used or
no table at all, as in Act 2, it would have provided more acting
space. I felt the pace of the play seemed to stay in the same
gear for long periods. Plodding along nicely without really
taking off. Whether the pace could have accelerated and then
decelerated a little more I’m not sure, but usually pace and
attack can bring contrasting shades to a two-hour play. This
didn’t take away from a well-directed comedy which had the
audience laughing out loud.
Cast
Dorothy Nettle
Vee Wells played Dot with a calmness that suggested she knew all
would be well and that any
problems could be overcome. Dorothy was not only King Lear’s
director but also the facilitator of the plot holding the
storyline together. Vee had some wonderful sarcastically
delivered lines and was generally unimpressed by Jefferson the
star, although warmly affectionate to Jefferson the man. Perhaps
Vee could have enveloped the character of Dot a little more and
made her more believable. Her ability to influence and persuade
the likes of Nigel, Denis and Mary to do what Dot wanted them to
do was a constant characteristic. Perhaps this provided an
opportunity to show a more manipulative Dot rather than just her
as the good community leader. Having said that, I enjoyed Vee’s
performance very much and thought she contrasted well with the
larger characters in the play.
Nigel Dewbury
Nick Charles showed some good timing on his comic lines and
played Nigel with confidence and
attack. As with most of the supporting roles, this part didn’t
have much depth to it but Nick displayed his frustration at
Jefferson’s acting incompetence to good comic effect. His bow
was strangely funny on each of its repeats and his pomposity
came across consistently. The change of heart towards Jefferson
was convincing and I liked the sword fight.
Mary Plunkett
Rohini Rajendram developed Mary into a warm and engaging
character, excited by the presence of the screen star Jefferson
Steel. Her enthusiasm and wanting of everything to go well was
fun to watch and she didn’t miss out on the opportunity for some
awkward flirting as only Mary knew how. Her confusion over which
actor starred in which film was a good running gag which the
audience enjoyed. The sight of the flamenco dress with castanets
and Roh’s expression facing out front was a memory that makes me
giggle as I think back on it now. Mary’s facial expressions gave
much to this portrayal. Little grimaces as she realised she’d
said something embarrassing, broad smiles at the joy and
excitement of meeting a Hollywood legend and the shock in the
eyes on discovering Lauren and Jefferson. As Act 2 progressed we
saw an angry and jealous Mary and again Rohini played this just
right with attack and venom but within the character of Mary. We
also got a few glimpses of Rohini’s fine singing voice. This was
a good performance in Rohini’s first non-singing show, well
done.
Denis Dobbins
From Denis’s comic entrance through the back curtains his
character was quickly established and well portrayed by Marcel
Kay. His simple way of life in rural England seemed at odds with
his ability to play classic Gloucester but therein lies the
comedy. Denis moved to become Jefferson’s minder with serious
enthusiasm and again this brought many laughs as did the lines
written on Denis’s back. Also, congratulations to Marcel for a
good and successful stab at the Suffolk accent. As a native of
Norfolk, I have spent my life listening to people doing poor
East Anglian accents believing that ‘yokel west country’ is good
enough. So, when I heard Marcel say ‘Youtoob’ and ‘Scooturh’ I
wanted to cheer. Good work Marcel and much appreciated.
Jefferson Steele
Howard Platt did a fine job as Jefferson Steel. From his airport
entrance he established the plot
construct and the misunderstanding of the Stratford players.
Howard’s Jefferson was very believable and he looked, sounded
and acted the American star really well. I think the audience
even had some sympathy for him and certainly felt his pain stuck
in this situation. I liked the expectation that Mary was wanting
his autograph but was really taking his breakfast order, and
that his tour of downtown Stratford took just three minutes.
Jefferson had some good lines about Shakespeare’s writing
talents and shortcomings, e.g. “Needs a re-write” and Ultimate
Finality 4 was a marvellous film title. (The art work in the
programme for the movie poster was wonderfully funny and not at
all self-indulgent, Howard!) I would imagine that this part is
not easy to position with the absurdity of a Hollywood star
being in a village production of King Lear with all its funny
but obvious references to trailers, riders and food
requirements. He also needed a warmth and ultimate admiration
for the people around him. Howard navigated this voyage well and
made the absurd acceptable and landed the intended comedy. Well
done.
Lauren Bell
Vicky Harris took on the role as the sponsor’s wife Lauren with
style. She obviously had more to give than just being ‘the Beer
Broad’ and either as a physiotherapist or a Shakespearean actor,
Lauren got her opportunities. The massage scene worked very well
and was a clever piece of positioning, acting and timing. Mary’s
eyes, as she came through the door, said it all.
Jessica Steel
The backpacker, Jessica, added much to the play when she arrived
later in Act 1. The plot took on
another element and Lizzie Clare played with confidence and
energy to confront the megastar with his parental failings. I
really liked the relationship between Jefferson and Jessica and
the breakfast scene showed that they knew each other in depth.
Both actors brought a genuineness that carried through to the
end when Jessica was ill and in need of care. Jessica’s asthma
being brought on by her allergy to her father made me laugh, as
did, I’m ashamed to say, her collapse during the King Lear play.
Lizzie’s accent was well placed and consistent throughout.
Sound and Lighting
I really liked the different music played between scenes. I took
up Adam’s programme challenge to see how many I could spot.
Airport by the Motors, English Country Garden and the
traditional Indian music made me smile. Some of the music was
played a little too long as the actors were in place ready to go
but kept in the dark. Sound effects of bleating sheep, shouting
paparazzi, fire alarms, ambulances and Mission Impossible were
all good fun. The lighting design of designated areas worked
well as did the single spot on the blanketed Jefferson.
Costumes
The well selected costumes complemented the characters and
appeared in keeping. Mary particularly had a fine ever-changing
wardrobe with bright dresses and skirts to fit her sunny nature.
The flamenco dress was terrific. Nigel came to rehearsals
dressed in blazer with bow tie or cravat. Denis’ blue boiler
suit fitted his maintenance role in Act 1 and Jefferson’s shirts
brought Hawaii to Suffolk. The King Lear requirements added to
the large wardrobe but again all looked spot on, even Marcel as
Goneril.
Props
There were some lovely props with The Sun worthy of special
note, complete with headline and front-page photo. The pool
table, mobility scooter, take-away curry and wheelchair all
needed gathering. Well done to Karen Rogers and Mel Taylor.
The challenge of this play is that it’s a well written, fairly
light comedy, with a good set up and story
wrapped around King Lear, which is not known for its laughs. It
then requires the cast to perform a
five-minute chunk of the heavy historical at 10.15pm. This is
not easy for any audience, however good the acting. You did a
good job contrasting the two styles but I wish Messrs Hislop and
Newman hadn’t foisted this part upon us.
Summary
So as Jefferson said, us amateurs, why do we do it? We all have
our own personal reasons but I suspect we can all at least agree
with Denis, `’It gets us out of the house”. |
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