The Stand-In

We’ve all had classes that didn’t quite go as we had planned, that didn’t meet our expectations, that fell short of the mark. Of course we have.

Well, introducing Mr Derek Spooner who is about to have a truly nightmarish day, where not only his class, but very much his entire day goes spectacularly wrong.

Through a misunderstanding, Mr Spooner is taken to be the stand-in, the replacement teacher sent to cover for the day. Well-meaning, kind and thoughtful yet meticulous, a little over fussy, somewhat nervous, Mr Spooner is very quickly out of his depth. With no actual teaching experience in front of a class he is quickly struggling and each attempt to rescue himself and get, more or less, back on track just makes matters worse.

And Mr Spooner also has his personal agenda: he is really there to pursue the love of his life; Rebecca, one of the teachers in the school. Proving himself to be equally bad at romance can his class actually help him with her?

The Stand-In is a hilarious comic look at Mr Spooner’s day with his class and is a play where the participation with the audience (his class) is paramount as they all try to survive the day together and both students and teacher find they actually do learn something from each other.