Review: Lend Me a Tenor - Sheringham Little Theatre

Review by Ray Tempesta

Sheringham Little Theatre's 66th summer rep season began in some style as the 2026 cast took to the stage to perform the celebrated Ken Ludwig farce, Lend Me a Tenor.

Set in a hotel suite in the 1930s, we initially meet Henry Saunders, General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera, his assistant Max, and his daughter Maggie (the uncommitted girlfriend of Max). They are eagerly awaiting the arrival of venerated tenor, Tito Merelli, to perform the lead role in a Verdi opera in what will be the biggest event in the company's history.

When Merelli eventually arrives with wife Maria in tow, they soon find getting him to the hotel was the least of their worries, as a whole series of comedy capers unfurl leading to a maelstrom of mix-ups with pills, mistaken identity, and hiding behind many doors.

While each of the multi-talented company does get an opportunity to show what they can do, this opening rep production hinges largely on the performances of Jonathan Iceton as the harassed assistant and Harry Wyatt as Merelli. And my goodness did they deliver.

Wyatt drew plenty of laughs as he nailed the characterisation of a clichéd Italian, hand gestures aplenty and brimming over with a fiery passion (matched only in temper by the excellent Lucy Connor as hot-headed wife Maria). He spends much of the second half staggering around the stage in a bewildered state, and on another scorching evening, he was sweating buckets by the end of the show, such was his physical commitment to the role.

Iceton begins the show in a much more understated manner, offering little hint of the scene-stealing and hilarious performance to come - I'm trying not to give the plot away - but it's what makes his transformation all the more remarkable, as he mirrors Wyatt's characterisation (and bewilderment) beautifully.

Although smaller roles, there's some big impact from much of the company. Anu Akinseye brought a bold yet insecure energy to the role of soprano Diana. Jonathan Houlston was funny and charming as the impudent bellhop desperate to meet his idol Merelli. And I genuinely believed Donald Forbes was going to collapse under the strain when capturing the stress felt by the company manager when things go from bad to worse.

The stage was split, with one side representing the hotel bedroom and the other its sitting room, with just a door representing the divide between the two. The difficulty of setting a show like this on the tight Sheringham Little Theatre stage was obvious, with actors hemmed in at times on one side of the stage or the other, but they coped with it well, and it served to amp up the comedic element as they chased each other in small spaces and darted in and out of rooms. Given the heavy and quickfire use of the doors, particularly the central divide, perhaps more thought could have gone to ensuring they stayed shut when closed (the cast had to think on their feet on a number of occasions as a door was ajar when it shouldn't have been).

Aside from the wonderful performances, the production's biggest asset was its pacing. Director Simon Thompson has clearly instilled this in his cast, and it showed, offering us the perfect example of how comedic farce should be done. Bravo!

Lend Me a Tenor continues at Sheringham Little Theatre until 29 August.

The 2026 Sheringham Little Theatre summer rep cast