Now that there’s a competition show for practically every profession or hobby you can imagine, you might think that viewers’ appetites for them would be on the wane. I certainly thought I was over this kind of thing, yet, somehow, every Sunday evening, I find that I am suddenly enormously invested in people making novelty teapots out of clay. Clearly there is still plenty of life in the format yet. Enter Bring the Drama, a noble, sometimes earnest, often lovely quest to give wannabe actors of all ages a shot at fulfilling their dreams.
It is hosted by Bill Bailey, who chivvies things along nicely, though the real star is the fair but stern casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry, who is there to put the eight ambitious amateurs through their professional paces. “This industry is skewed towards privilege,” she says. “I believe that has to change.” There’s actually little mention of class, at least directly, but it is evident that, for one reason or another, the eight finalists did not feel able to pursue acting as a professional career. Some say this was financial, others cultural, while some simply did not know where to begin. Here, they are offered the same sorts of opportunities they might have had access to if they went to drama school. They get an acting coach, auditions, and at the end of the series – for the three standout contestants – a showcase performance, attended by agents and other professionals.
