Woolpit Drama Club is set to stage Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s comedy A Bunch of Amateurs
Life will imitate art when Woolpit Drama Club puts on a play about a Suffolk amdram group and a struggling production of King Lear.
Sparks fly when Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steel turns up to join an amdram group in the sleepy village of Stratford St John, thinking he has been booked to play King Lear at Stratford Upon Avon.
A Bunch of Amateurs, written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, is described by the authors as ‘a love letter to amateur dramatics’. The play involves a parade of comic chaos, with the added bonus of getting to see all the best bits of Shakespeare’s King Lear in under 10 minutes!
“When this play was first suggested to me, I wasn’t sure. It sounded like it was going to be poking fun at something I have enjoyed doing for decades. But I fell in love with it on my first read through,” said director Paul Gort.
“It has beautifully written comedy lines as well as hilarious visual gags in a perfect depiction of the struggle that amateur groups have on nearly every production they mount. Have we enough money, will people come and support, can we build that set?
“It is so funny and its mirroring of Lear so very clever. Anyone who comes to see it, I’m sure will fall in love with it instantly, as I did.”
Clare Baker, a club stalwart who has been a member for 20 years, added: “Paul is a fantastic director and always gets the most out of us when we are learning the play and developing our characters. Every play he has directed has been such fun.”
Clare, who often gets cast as a blonde bimbo or ditsy character, is enjoying playing Mary, a ‘plain Jane’ character, who has a huge crush on the older, but still dashing, Hollywood actor Jefferson Steel (Gareth Hatton).
For this production, the club has welcomed some fresh faces, from experienced amateur actor Jeremy Warbrick to newcomer Jessie Faith. Jessie, who lives in Elmswell, has never performed on stage before. She happened to be in Woolpit Village Hall for an Aikido session when she saw a notice about drama club auditions.
“Being on stage is something I’ve been wanting to try for a number of years now, but I have been held back by lack of opportunities – and courage,” said Jessie. “When I stumbled across the existence of the Woolpit Drama Club I thought I just needed to finally give this a go.”
Not only is Jessie tackling Shakespeare in her first play, but English is not even her first language as she grew up in Germany. Her character in the play has the same first name – Jessica – and she says it is difficult at times to play a character who is much more hostile and angry than herself.
“It’s certainly been a steep learning curve for me, particularly in regard to my confidence, but I'm enjoying the opportunity to try something new,” she added.
Woolpit Drama Club was founded in in 1998 by David Cordon and Sheila Serjeant with the aim of providing good quality theatre in the community. David was awardedthe MBE for his part in getting funding for a village hall that now has fully functioning theatre facilities.
Over the years, the club has performed a wide range of shows from tragedy and farce to panto, by authors from Agatha Christie and Terence Rattigan to Shakespeare, and built a strong reputation for professionalism.
“We like to put on plays that make people laugh and are fun to do,” said Clare. “There is so much doom and gloom going on in the world that we enjoy performing to the best of our abilities and making people laugh for a couple of hours.”
by Gayle Wade
A Bunch of Amateurs, November 21-23, Woolpit Village Hall. Call 01359 240552
or visit www.wegottickets.com
