Masterclass at Theatre at the Tabard

It’s evening in the classroom of a small primary school and it’s time for a Masterclass… but who is teaching who?

Thanks to a minor disagreement with the tax man, ageing Shakespearean thespian and faded film star Roger Sutherland is forced to swallow his pride and start offering paid evening acting masterclasses in local primary schools and community halls. It’s a far cry from the West End, but the show must go on.

Enter stage left Gary Brock – a brash, young Australian actor with a TV past and big ambitions. Once a child star Down Under, Gary has crossed the globe to reignite his career in the land of Shakespeare, but instead finds himself face to face with Roger, whose disdain for modern acting methods is matched only by his contempt for actors who don’t know their soliloquies from their stage directions.

With clashing egos, wildly different philosophies on acting, and a few forgotten lines along the way, sparks fly and tempers flare. But beneath the posturing and put-downs, could these two actors actually have something to learn from one another?

Produced and presented first at The Bridge House Theatre and starring Kurt Lucas and Alex Dee, this comedic drama is a sharp, funny, and heartfelt exploration of art, ambition, and the fine line between performance and reality.