Almost Famous – The King’s Arms

“Escaping and pretending is better than the truth,” says Emily Benton (Jac Wheble), the hero of this one-woman show about identity, fame, and the desire to be seen, not for what you are, that’s boring. She has a thirst, a craving almost to be seen in the spotlight, out front, and famous.

Benton, we find out, is living a lie from the start. Suddenly, we are taken into an examination of identity in a world where everyone is pretending. She came from Australia to the UK in the early 1970s to pursue her dream of finding fame and fortune as a performer.

“Naivety gets you through,” she says as she looks back at her younger self and the pitfalls she faced in a business where more established, powerful men will take advantage of her with the promise of a record contract or a juicy part on the West End stage.

For all the stars that make it, hundreds, maybe thousands, of people have failed to get their name up in lights and a star on their dressing room door. All those wannabe artists who look back as they get old to what might have been. Feeling they had led the wrong life, as they had to settle for an ordinary existence.

Age is dealt with subtly by this play through the prism of the acting profession. Older actresses are consigned to mother parts, or even worse, they have to take on a part of someone with Alzheimer’s to get a job. No one sees you when you are old, and not as a living, breathing sexual being. 

She fears becoming another end-of-the-pier performer at the “dog end of her career.” Acting out her days along with the one-hit wonder pop stars, who are still trying to recreate that moment when they were famous.

Jac Wheble is sublime as Benton, bringing out every inch of pathos from a life of wanting to be centre stage, the lead actress, getting all the applause and the plaudits. You could feel the sadness at the heart of a life not lived to its potential. She brought out the bitterness, the heartbreak, yet there is also a steely desire, despite a lifetime of striving, that the next audition, the next part, the next performance will bring the fame, the notoriety that she desires. She will find her moment in the sun, and all that she has sacrificed will make it worth it.

Andy Moseley’s script was structured perfectly and included some wry observations about art and the business of art. The nobility of art is cleverly undercut from the very start, as a well-known actress has died, which gives our heroine an opportunity. It is a business, after all, and this story shows that there is no such thing as artistic purity.

This is a deft play, performed by an actress with wonderful control and understanding. The hour flew by, and I heartily recommend it. It will certainly resonate with anyone who has stepped on a stage and hoped that someone, somewhere, will see their talent and make them a star.

It continues at The King’s Arms on July 20th – https://greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk/events/almost-famous/ It will then be at the Buxton Fringe, 21st and 22nd July, and then it will go on to the Edinburgh Fringe in August.

Reviewer: Adam Williams

Reviewed: 19th July 2025

North West End UK Rating: