Review: The Unprofessionals

ISA BONACHERA is extremely impressed with this new comedy offering by Henry Wilkinson.

ADC Cambridge lateshow Tab Theatre Unprofessionals

The Unprofessionals is a must-see. Every single performance in this show is outstanding and hilarious. Director and writer, Henry Wilkinson, has definitely outdone himself with this show, and I cannot wait to see more of his work.

The Unprofessionals tells the story of an elderly couple that get thrown into the world of crime, while enjoying a retirement trip through Europe. The script is hilarious, full of witty-references and hysterical one-liners. The show has a well-executed ‘film noir’ style, with hilarious portrayals of the classic characters, including the femme fatale, spies, and gangsters. Wilkinson has proved himself more than worthy of the upgrade from last year’s successful Corpus slot to this triumph of an ADC lateshow.

We would like to see more of Wilkinson’s writing, thank you very much.

The show revolved around the performances of Wilkinson (Norman Sterling) and Beth Dubow (Rita Sterling), who played the elderly couple. Their performances were spot on, and the audience was reacted enthusiastically to everything they said. Physically, their every gesture was sharply tailored, and the two even carried the distinct voice sound of elderly people.

Throughout the show a voiceover, by Louis Roger (the Stranger), narrates the events. Roger played several characters through the show, and was particularly impressive in his portrayal of the distressed man that is persecuted by the gangster mob.  Hannah Sands (The Fez) plays a vicious gangster, who has to recover some stolen money with the help of her wonderfully incompetent hitmen played by Paul Tait (Vinnie), and Johanna Ohlman (Karen). Sands gave a wonderful performance – she sounded like a character from ‘Goodfellas’, with a childish and capricious side. The audience especially loved her tantrums and angry rants.

An impressive cast, excellent script, and slick production – what’s not to love.

The rest of the cast was stellar and the funniest combination of actors I have seen on the ADC stage.  Rebecca Thomas was a fantastic femme fatale, with her Italian accent that amusingly struggled to seduce the protagonist. Haydn Jenkins played several characters throughout the show, including an Italian receptionist, a bad magician, and a Shakespearean actor. Every single one of his performances was different, and truly hysterical, leaving me anticipating his every entrance.

The Unprofessionals is outstanding and extremely amusing. It is has everything one should expect from Cambridge theatre; the performances are amazing, the script is clever, and you are guarantee to laugh raucously.

73 % – A well-deserved 1st