Actor Stephen McQueen has just landed a dream West End role. Well, that’s not quite true – what he’s going to be is an understudy to film star Josh Harper (12th Sexiest Man in the World).

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Whilst he’s waiting for his time to shine, he reflects on his own career – one that has spanned everything from (non-speaking) Rent Boy 3 in The Bill to his recent starring role as Sammy in the (low-budget) regional tour of Sammy The Squirrel’s Seriously Silly Safari.

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With this new job Stephen’s stage career may be destined for the dizzying heights, but not everything is going quite as well. Stephen’s wife left him two years ago, wondering if he’d ever grow up; his daughter wonders when he’ll get an actual job; worst of all, he’s starting to fall for the leading man’s wife.

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The Understudy is the story of an underdog – a failed husband, a failing father, a failing actor, and the impossible choice he’s going to have to make between stealing the show and stealing another man’s wife.