Masterclass at Brockley Jack Studio Theatre Review
Written by Penny for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Masterclass is a new play by Tim Connery that looks at what happens when an actor whose star is on the wane has resorted to hiring a primary school classroom to give his acting masterclass for £85 a head. His only pupil is a young Australian actor, looking to hit the big time as an adult in the UK after being a very successful child star in a soap opera back home. But can our fading actor and young pretender put their egos aside long enough to learn something from each other?
It's a great premise. In a world that loves to build its stars up only to knock them down, it has the potential to be a great comedy, maybe a tragedy, and maybe a sharp, satirical commentary on the fickle nature of the business we call show.
The set very clearly establishes our primary school location, with its requisite tiny chairs facing a teacher’s desk. There are maps, alphabet and number charts at the back, with a whiteboard on which our expert will write his words of wisdom. The set isn’t as simple as it first appears, with subtle changes during the performance reflecting the unfolding story.
Our actor/tutor enters. He’s Roger Sutherland, a star of stage and screen. A former star that is. He is practising an acceptance speech but keeps fluffing his lines. His student arrives, he’s Gary Brock, a young Australian so casually dressed that Roger thinks he’s a plumber come to fix the radiator. After this inauspicious start, and a little back and forth over payment (cash only, Roger doesn’t want it going to HMRC), the class begins.
It soon becomes clear that this class is not going to be value for money. With pearls of wisdom like “learn your lines” and stressing the value of gin as the “actor’s friend”, it’s all a far cry from the expectations of the young method actor who has no time for the flowery language of Shakespeare and believes an actor has to fully immerse himself in any character he’s to play, even if it could lead to injury or death. The two men struggle to find common ground and Roger’s anecdotes about his illustrious career don’t land with the newcomer, who is unimpressed by tales of hard drinking and “beautiful, sexy ex-wives”.
It’s an excellent script, full of references that will resonate with the theatre insider – self-tape auditions, performing in small rooms out the back of a pub where the cast of a two-hander play outnumbers the audience, and a scathing put-down of self-obsessed critics (a bold move on press night – do you want a good review or not?!!). But you don’t have to be an actor to be thoroughly entertained by every anecdote – the ignominy of the hit to the ego of going from starring at the National Theatre to making an advert for orthopaedic beds is clear to everyone. The two men bicker over the value of “method” acting, it’s very funny and both are a little ridiculous in their conviction that their way is the right one.
Director Luke Adamson has his actors moving around the stage in a very natural way. There’s great energy and pace. The characters seem to continually be in performance mode – not looking at each other when they have a point to make, but taking on the actor’s stance of declaiming out front to an invisible audience or camera operator.
The two actors, Alex Dee (Roger) and Kurt Lucas (Gary) work very well together. Dee perfectly embodies the fading star, brain addled by alcohol and trying to relive his glory days. He’s a little pompous and very self-absorbed. But beneath the surface, it doesn’t take long to see a much more vulnerable character. It’s a testament to the writing and Dee’s performance that, after just over an hour in his character’s company, despite his outward posturing and ego, we’ve all come to really care for him.
As Gary, Lucas gives us a very earnest young man, full of simmering resentment that his youthful taste of fame hasn’t instantly turned into adult stardom. We clearly see his frustrations, his passionate commitment to acting as a craft, and a growing sense of disillusion with the reality of life for a jobbing actor. At one point this boils over into real anger, a marked contrast with the comedy that has gone before.
As the play moves on, the tone changes and we get to see the men behind the theatrical bravado. As Roger starts to open up, Gary starts to learn. The barriers between them come down and the tone changes from laugh-out-loud comedy to one that packs a real emotional punch – open, honest and heartbreaking. As the school bell sounds and the harsh classroom lights come on, the class is over and we wonder what is next for this unlikely fledgeling friendship and their acting careers. A touching final postscript lets us know. It’s the perfect ending to a play that really is a masterclass on how to write and deliver an exceptional piece of theatre.
Masterclass runs at the Jack Studio Theatre until Saturday 24th January. Find out more and book here.
★★★★★