Performance dates 11th-16th June.

For further information please contact Director Chris Moran at cmoran@ntlworld.com or on 07729 501350

Cast list:

Woman (late 30s)

Man (similar)

Woman’s Mother

Woman’s younger Sister

Kataya, their housekeeper

Social Worker (female)

Rose, the baby’s birth mother (young, late teens, prostitute)

Child (female, about 10)

Removal Men (may just be on video or could be SM team)

Dinner Guest (female, will probably double with social worker/sister/Kataya)

Director and Camera person (will probably double with social worker/sister/Kataya)

Synopsis:
A wealthy architect and his wife live in a beautiful home and lead a glamorous life. They have everything they could wish for. Except the one thing they want most of all.  A baby.

When they decide to adopt, they know only how much they long for a child. But the baby’s troubled mother comes to haunt them and their lives become entangled in a way no-one could have imagined…

This is a poignant and engaging play which looks at the complex relationships between mothers and daughters from lots of different perspectives.

The child in the play exists in the Woman’s head and cannot be seen by the other characters, adding an interesting dynamic to the piece.  She represents different things to the Woman at different times, from the child that she longs for to the ghost of the Woman as a child and her repressed feelings and inner fears about what the baby might become.

Written by Polly Teale and first performed in 2008, Mine is a is a very well-written and engaging piece of theatre which follows the Woman’s emotional journey as she begins to understand the enormity of what she has taken on.

Auditions: 7.30pm Wed 7th & 14th, 12pm Sun 18th March @
Progress Theatre

Henry Bolingbroke, a once great knight, has returned to Britain and claimed the throne in the absence of the king. Now Hotspur, the son of his former allies, is rallying together the forces of Wales, Scotland and the North to restore the rightful heir. Henry’s only hope of keeping his crown is that his wayward son Hal will pull himself away from the taverns of London, and the influence of Old Jack Falstaff, to become the Prince he was meant to be. History, comedy and tragedy roll into one in this Shakespearean masterpiece. The battle that will shape Britain is about to begin…

The King’s Court
King Henry IV – The once great knight, Bolingbroke, is now King and struggles with the politics of the throne as his enemies gather.
Hal, Prince of Wales – Wayward young Prince, busy having fun in London’s taverns, upon whose shoulders rests the fate of the Crown.
John of Lancaster – Youngest son of the King, has taken his brother’s place at court.
Earl of Westmoreland – Lord Marshall of England and loyal to the King.
Sir Walter Blount – Standard bearer, friend and staunchest ally of the King.

The Rebels
‘Hotspur’ Henry Percy – Fearless knight who leads the forces united against the King. Determined to do what he believes is right and restore the lineage of Richard II to the throne.
Earl of Worcester – Conniving former ally of Henry, orchestrator of the rebellion.
Earl of Northumberland – A politician rather than a knight and a hesitant conspirator. Hotspur’s father and Worcester’s brother.
Lady Percy – Opinionated, yet concerned, wife of Hotspur.
Lord Edmund Mortimer – Named heir to the throne by Richard II.
Lady Mortimer – Welsh wife of Mortimer, a singer who entertains rebels.
Owen Glendower – Leader of the Welsh fight for independence.
Archibald, Earl of Douglas – Leader of the Scottish clans.
Sir Richard Vernon – Senior member of Hotspur’s forces.
Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York – Ally to the rebellion.

The Taverners
Sir John Falstaff – Big and boisterous, a former knight turned thief and drunkard. Enjoys the pleasures of excess, and can’t help exaggerating, as he takes Hal under his wing.
Mistress Quickly – Landlady of the Boar’s Head Tavern and the only person who can keep Falstaff’s gang in check.
Edward Poins – A gentleman without money, Hal’s close friend.
Bardolph – Falstaff’s drinking buddy and partner in crime.
Peto – Fellow thief and drunkard of Hal and Falstaff.
Gadshill – A fixer, sets up the jobs for the thieves.
Sheriff, Chamberlain, Carriers, Travellers and Messengers

Audition Pieces
Act One – Scene 1 line 47-107  Scene 3 line 1-92, 129-225
Act Two – Scene 2 line 1-75 Scene 3 line 72-114
Act Three – Scene 1 line 89-186 Scene 3 line 51-173
Act Four – Scene 1 line 74-135 Scene 3 line 1-65

There will be opportunity for cross casting, some roles require physicality for stage fighting.

For any further information contact director Dan Clarke, dpgclarke@hotmail.co.uk, assistant director Kevin Copping, kcopping@btinternet.com, or producer Laura Mills, lozzy66@hotmail.com.

10th-15th April (Tuesday to Saturday), 7.45pm

Auditions

Wednesday 8th February, 7.45 pm

Saturday 11th February, 2.30pm

at Progress Theatre

A Kind of Alaska, by Harold Pinter

and

Handbagged, by Moira Buffini

Cast

A Kind of Alaska, by Harold Pinter

2f, early-mid 40s

1m, 50s to early 60s

A middle-aged woman named Deborah, who has been in a comatose state for thirty years as a result of contracting sleeping sickness, awakes with a mind still that of a sixteen-year-old. She must confront a body which seems to have aged without her prior knowledge or consent. Inspired by an existing work – Oliver Sacks’ study of patients waking from sleeping sickness – this involving drama explores what happens when our self-perception comes face to face with a very different reality.

Handbagged, by Moira Buffini

4f, ranges 40s to 70s

2m, ranges 40s to 70s

For over a decade Margaret Thatcher met the Queen for a weekly audience. With all her previous Prime Ministers the Queen enjoyed a fairly informal relationship, but with Mrs Thatcher, things were different. Handbagged is an extremely witty look at what the relationship between these two very powerful and private women might have been like, including the influence of two key men: Ronald Reagan and Michael Shea.  It provides a wonderful opportunity for four actresses to portray the two formidable women at different stages of their life.

Auditions at Progress Theatre

About the play:

When Annie’s husband John dies of leukaemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They manage to persuade four fellow WI members to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, with a little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. The news of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame.

Based on the true story of eleven WI members who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund, Calendar Girls opened at the Chichester Festival Theatre and has since become the fastest selling play in British theatre history.