An old actor dreams of success.

Frank Dudley is determined to revive his not-so-glittering career. In a bedsit in North London the unreconstructed veteran thespian is working on a one man show offering gems from the greats…Shakespeare, Chekhov, a little Coward.

Seemingly past his prime, Frank hopes that his appearance at Barnstaple’s Fringe TheatreFest will boost his fortunes and repair a self-belief long withered by his failure to be noticed.

‘I’ve never played Shakespeare,’ says Frank, who will be returning to Barnstaple to give audiences a glimpse of what might have been, had fate been kinder.

In Frankly Speaking... he takes on Shakespeare for the very first time and offers a poignant glimpse into a disappearing theatrical legacy; a career littered with bit-parts, walk-ons, a disastrous season in panto and an intimate knowledge of theatre digs throughout the land.

Frankly Speaking... is a production by the West Yorkshire-based SRM Theatre Company and is a prequel to Swansong-slightly out of tune, seen at the Baptist Hall last year. Frank Dudley is once more played by Mike Casey, who is returning to Barnstaple for the sixth time.

With the script still in the early stages of development, it may be that Frank will lose his way among his memories. Come along to the Fringe TheatreFest, June 27-30, to discover if he has succeeded in his aim of showing Sir Ian McKellen that he’s not the only ageing thesp who can play Hamlet at 80.