In a claustrophobic apartment, an actor confronts the examiner who once gave him a perfect score in an acting exam. On the wall, the certificate which validates his perfect score is proudly framed and the actor, who believed he was destined for greatness, faces the consequences of his misplaced hope and the harsh truth of what it is to build a career in his chosen profession.
Now I have to disclose that for 20 plus years I worked as an examiner for both GCSE Drama and A Level Theatre Studies and the premise of this darkly comedic piece of theatre directly addresses something that I had never thought about before but have significant experience of. What is the impact of a perfect score on the recipient? In this case, the actor has believed that he has a profound talent and as such has pursued a career that ten years on has not reached anything like the dizzy heights he had dreamed of. As such, when a chance meeting with the examiner occurs, he unravels and his need for validation gets the better of him.
As the Actor, Benjamin Sumrie gives an assured performance in which he exposes the fragile ego and the needy insecurity of his character with skill. He is unhinged, obsessive, needy and resentful and the focus of this resentment is Francesca Maria Izzo’s ‘Examiner’, the woman who changed his life. Izzo is calm and polite, diplomatic and reassuring but as the red flags emerge and the unsettling psychological showdown unravels, she gradually takes control of the dangerous situation that she finds herself in.
For me, the most effective part of the comedy is the re-presentation of the Actors exam pieces in which he presents his audition speeches for the examiner to re-mark whilst under the threat of murder should she not be truthful. This section of the play offers great interplay between the characters and a strong rapport between the cast, but the narrative does not completely work. Call me a pedant, but to get a perfect score of one hundred percent, the Actor must have been a pretty decent performer but his audition speeches are not great. Whilst respect has to be given to Sumrie – it takes skill to perform badly – I really would have liked to see him nail his exam pieces and open up the discourse to the fact that he has simply chosen a very ,very tough profession in which the vast majority, no matter how able, spend significant periods of time out of work and for which luck can be as important as talent.
None the less, I enjoyed this well paced and at times clever show in a beloved venue which almost felt like a play of a play of a play. If you have studied, taught, enjoyed or examined ‘drama’ there is plenty here to be entertained by.
One Hundred Percent presented by Precarious Theatre runs until 5th July with tickets available at https://greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk/events/one-hundred-percent/
Reviewer: Lou Kershaw
Reviewed: 3rd July 2025
North West End UK Rating:
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