That's Show Business!
Entertainment Agent, Tony Thompson, is finding good acts hard to come by. At 55 years of age and a lifetime of supplying acts for pubs, clubs and music halls, Tony should have made his fortune by now, and be looking forward to retirement. Alas, three failed marriages later, and he finds himself in the confines of a small office, amidst walls covered by billing posters of ‘once great’ variety act performers and hit West End shows. The trouble is, when the big names did come Tony’s way, he had the unhappy knack of making the wrong decisions.
Amongst the framed memories displayed on his desk is a photograph of his daughter, Bethany Samuels, whom he hasn’t seen for almost ten years. While he now adds that particular episode to his list of failures, Bethany, a product of his first marriage, isn’t as far away as he might think.
With his personal and business life a complete disaster, Tony decides to end his life. However, at the point of carrying out the deed, he hears a fresh, undiscovered talent who he believes will turn things around for him. Enter Bronwyn Starr, an evening cleaner at the offices where he is based.
After duping Bronwyn into signing up, he enters her into a singing competition. With a £1,000 first prize, and the opportunity to win a large amount of money by placing a bet with his former bookie, Sidney Devine, he arranges a £10,000 loan from an undesirable loan shark by the name of Mike Turner.
Meanwhile, Tony’s Secretary, Trisha Kimble, resigns from her post, having shared in his failures once too often, though she remains in the plot when her complicated love life begins to unravel.
Little does Tony know, but Sidney Devine and Mike Turner are two of the three owners of the Riverside Club where the competition is to take place, as well as being the judges. The third is Bridget Molhoun, who Tony once predicted would never be known to anyone – a criticism that has gnawed away at her ever since – so she too is keen to see Tony get his comeuppance.
In an ironic twist of fate, Bethany Samuels, turns up at the Riverside Club on the night of the competition, looking to get even with the Robbie Williams look-a-like who dumped her for being too possessive.
Robbie is the favourite to take the first prize, being as he is the Nephew of Sidney Devine, and when Tony finds out about the family tie, the situation looks all together hopeless.
To top it all, the Compère is Lilly Savage (Paul O’Grady) who was once turned down by Tony because, as Tony put it, ‘there isn’t any room in the entertainment industry for men in dresses.’
Intermingled with the main story are several other characters, all with their own story to tell. These include Pearl Paige, an R & B singer who has had affairs with Jim Flagstone, a record Producer - Tony’s Secretary, Trisha Kimble - and her flat mate, Maddy Lester.
Other characters include, Jed Murray, a County & Western singer who is having an affair with Silvia West (one half of a duet due to sing in the competition), and Lou Hardacre, the local pub Landlord.
It all comes to a head on competition night, when the full cast are present. Bethany shows up brandishing a starting pistol, and that’s when it is revealed whose relationships are solid, and whose aren’t.
The story concludes with Tony and Bethany finding their purpose in life – each other; Bronwyn finds her perfect match in Robbie Williams; Pearl Paige looks to fill her life with lovers and ends up finding loneliness; Jed Murray is found out to be the womanising coward that he is; Gordon’s loyalty and love for Silvia keeps them together; Trisha and Maddy discover their love for each other; Jim Flagstone has his moment of revenge; while Bridget Molhoun still craves to be famous.
Amongst the framed memories displayed on his desk is a photograph of his daughter, Bethany Samuels, whom he hasn’t seen for almost ten years. While he now adds that particular episode to his list of failures, Bethany, a product of his first marriage, isn’t as far away as he might think.
With his personal and business life a complete disaster, Tony decides to end his life. However, at the point of carrying out the deed, he hears a fresh, undiscovered talent who he believes will turn things around for him. Enter Bronwyn Starr, an evening cleaner at the offices where he is based.
After duping Bronwyn into signing up, he enters her into a singing competition. With a £1,000 first prize, and the opportunity to win a large amount of money by placing a bet with his former bookie, Sidney Devine, he arranges a £10,000 loan from an undesirable loan shark by the name of Mike Turner.
Meanwhile, Tony’s Secretary, Trisha Kimble, resigns from her post, having shared in his failures once too often, though she remains in the plot when her complicated love life begins to unravel.
Little does Tony know, but Sidney Devine and Mike Turner are two of the three owners of the Riverside Club where the competition is to take place, as well as being the judges. The third is Bridget Molhoun, who Tony once predicted would never be known to anyone – a criticism that has gnawed away at her ever since – so she too is keen to see Tony get his comeuppance.
In an ironic twist of fate, Bethany Samuels, turns up at the Riverside Club on the night of the competition, looking to get even with the Robbie Williams look-a-like who dumped her for being too possessive.
Robbie is the favourite to take the first prize, being as he is the Nephew of Sidney Devine, and when Tony finds out about the family tie, the situation looks all together hopeless.
To top it all, the Compère is Lilly Savage (Paul O’Grady) who was once turned down by Tony because, as Tony put it, ‘there isn’t any room in the entertainment industry for men in dresses.’
Intermingled with the main story are several other characters, all with their own story to tell. These include Pearl Paige, an R & B singer who has had affairs with Jim Flagstone, a record Producer - Tony’s Secretary, Trisha Kimble - and her flat mate, Maddy Lester.
Other characters include, Jed Murray, a County & Western singer who is having an affair with Silvia West (one half of a duet due to sing in the competition), and Lou Hardacre, the local pub Landlord.
It all comes to a head on competition night, when the full cast are present. Bethany shows up brandishing a starting pistol, and that’s when it is revealed whose relationships are solid, and whose aren’t.
The story concludes with Tony and Bethany finding their purpose in life – each other; Bronwyn finds her perfect match in Robbie Williams; Pearl Paige looks to fill her life with lovers and ends up finding loneliness; Jed Murray is found out to be the womanising coward that he is; Gordon’s loyalty and love for Silvia keeps them together; Trisha and Maddy discover their love for each other; Jim Flagstone has his moment of revenge; while Bridget Molhoun still craves to be famous.
