A bunch of amateurs, paperback/ian hislop

Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steele 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.

Jeffersons monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested to the limit by the enthusiastic am-dram thespians.

As acting worlds collide and Jeffersons career implodes, he discovers some truths about himself - along with his inner Lear terrific comedy packed with killer comic dialogue.

plenty of twists and turns ***** Whatsonstage Deliciously stuffed with Shakespeare.

a laugh-a-minute **** Mail on Sunday.