A new comedy by the famous Ian Hislop (of Private Eye and Have I Got News For You fame) and his co-author, Nick Newman, is a cause for celebration by the Tamaritans Theatre Company – not least because the title ‘A Bunch Of Amateurs’ is so provocative for a local drama group!

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In the play we meet Jefferson Steele, a fading Hollywood action hero who is trying to revive his flagging career. He arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard but a sleepy Suffolk village. And, instead of Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers. Sparks fly as Jefferson’s monstrous ego encounters the reality of drama on a small stage and the challenges of interpreting Shakespeare’s wonderful dialogue.