Masterclass is a masterpiece of a two-hander. Set in a primary school classroom where rooms are rented out for community teaching, an elderly actor is struggling to remember the lines for an acceptance speech he hopes to make for an award he will never receive. In his heyday, Roger Sutherland has seen better days, playing Shakespeare at the Haymarket and James Bond-like spies in television roles. Now, with his memory fading, he has sunk to giving acting classes, but the only person to turn up is a brash young Australian, Gary Brock, who thinks he knows it all. Gary was a child star in an Australian soap filmed in the outback, now in the UK (which he aims to conquer), he is finding it hard to obtain employment except for a role in pub theatre where the cast often outnumber the audience.
In a superlative performance, Alex Dee gives us a moving portrayal of early dementia and subdued grandness, while Lucas plays his pupil with a complex mixture of obnoxious derision, assertion and vulnerability. Gary feels he has been sold a dud when he finds all Sutherland wants to do is reminisce about the good old days of ‘beautiful sexy ladies’, heavy drinking and his fun days of acting. For Gary, trained in the Sakalowski Institute’s method acting of ‘Be what you are’, an actor has to be their character to reach the central truth of the work being performed. Sutherland cuttingly tells him that ‘this is acting, not therapy’. For him the opposite of what Gary believes is true: in order to act you must not ‘Be what you are’, but ‘Be what you are not.
What takes this work to the next level would need a spoiler alert if I were to spell it out. Suffice to say that the pair are so far apart in what they believe it seems impossible they will ever understand each other’s stance. In a continuous reveal of the difficulties each of the characters have, what seems jokey and almost vicious is broken into by a penetrating understanding.
This is an evening of sharp, witty dialogue. The play is full of actors’ insider jokes which often have the audience laughing. Endings are notoriously difficult in plays, but this one is one of the best I have seen. I won’t give away too much, except to stay that it is surprising, but leaves the audience with a deep sense of satisfaction. It is difficult to find a balance between pathos and comedy, but this play has it is spot on.
Venue: Jack Studio Brockley
Writer: Tim Connery
Cast: Alex Dee, Kurt Lucas
Director: Luke Adamson
Running Time 75 mins, no interval
Dates: 20-24th January 2026