Audition Notice

Posted on March 1, 2024, in: News

Thursday 2nd May – 7.30 pm – Wharf Theatre Foyer.

Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads’ Monologues

Director – Abigail Newton

Performance dates Monday 2^nd – Saturday 7^th September 2024

Each monologue lasts approximately thirty minutes and the performer will be on stage throughout.

A lady of Letters

Irene Ruddock is a working class single woman living near Bradford who is not afraid to speak, or rather write, her mind: she writes letters to her MP, the police, the chemist – everyone she can, to remedy the social ills she sees around her. After one too many accusations of misconduct from Irene’s pen, she is sent to prison – where, for the first time in her life, she feels free and happy.

Age 30-50

Bed Among the Lentils

Susan, an alcoholic, nervous vicar’s wife who has to travel into Leeds to go to the off-licence because of her debts with the local shop keeper, distracts herself from her ambitious, and, as she sees him, vainly insensitive husband and his doting parishioners by conducting an affair with a nearby grocer, Ramesh Ramesh the third, discovering something about herself and God in the process. She does not feel cheated when Ramesh Ramesh moves on to marry.

Age 30-60

A Cream Cracker under the Settee

Doris, aged seventy-five, is a tidy woman — and when she suffers a fall after trying to clear up after her considerably less thorough home help, Zulema, it becomes apparent that her constant nagging may have been responsible for her husband’s early death. Alone and injured, she wonders whether the only place left for her in society is a care home which she distrusts. Resisting this with all her being, she decides she’d rather die on her own in considerable pain than live in a care home ‘smelling of pee’.

Aged 75

You must be a Friend of the Theatre to take part in any production, details can be found on The Wharf Theatre’s website www.wharftheatre.co.uk

Scripts available from Abigail Newton, , 07946486642

If you have any questions or wish to audition but cannot make the date please let me know.

Audition Notice

Posted on November 2, 2021, in: Uncategorized

Tuesday 14th December – 7.30 pm – Wharf Theatre.

‘The Revlon Girl’ by Neil Anthony Docking

Director – Lyn Taylor

Performance dates Monday 28th March – Saturday 2nd April 2022

Characters

Sian – Bright, hopeful and eager to help. Sian is the instigator (and defender) of the evening’s event and is desperate for it to go well.

Playing Age – late 20s (F)

Marilyn – Introverted, tense and fearful of change. Outwardly innocent, however she is very focused.

Playing Age – early to mid-thirties (F)

Rona – Fiery, foul-mouthed and indomitable. She finds strength in rage, rejects authority and is easily set alight. Playing Age – early to mid-thirties (F)

Jean – Stately, conservative and sociable. Though she hails from the same background as Marilyn and Rona, Jean is now the wife of a respected church minister and therefore regards herself as a pillar of the community.

Playing Age – early to mid-thirties (F)

Revlon Girl – Smart, well-groomed, trusting and comes from Bristol.

Playing Age – late 20s (F)

Jackie (unseen) – the hotel’s part-time receptionist/bar maid, helpful, but inattentive. This role can be doubled with one of the other characters.

Play Synopsis:

On 21st October 1966, in the Welsh mining village of Aberfan, the ‘tips’ (man-made hills of colliery waste) dangerously piled on top of a hidden stream, collapsed, sliding down onto the village below, killing 144 people in just a few minutes. The avalanche struck Pantglas Junior School, demolishing and engulfing the classrooms. 109 children and 5 teachers were killed.

Set 8 months after the Aberfan Disaster, The Revlon Girl tells the real-life story of a group of bereaved mothers who met every week, in a function room above the Aberfan hotel to talk, cry and even laugh without feeling guilt. At one of their meetings, they secretly arranged for a representative from Revlon to come and give them a talk on beauty tips.

This is a play packed with character and heartache, entwining the restraints, gossip and sometime irrationality of a small-town community, with the poignancy of a mother’s loss. Much of the sadness in The Revlon Girl comes from the fact these women are trapped by the etiquette of grieving, but due to the relationship and affinity between these five individuals, there are many humorous, uplifting and hopeful moments, allowing this piece to bring much emotion and entertainment to its audience.

Please note: the character ages reflect the likely ages of the real-life women at the heart of this story. The important thing is that Marilyn, Rona and Jean should be cast similarly in terms of age as they were in school together. Sian and Revlon are a few years younger.

Accent is important to this story, so Sian, Marilyn, Rona and Jean will be played with a Welsh accent and

Revlon will be played with a Bristol accent.

You must be a Friend of the Theatre to take part in any production, details can be found on The Wharf Theatre’s website www.wharftheatre.co.uk

Scripts are available to read first if you wish – please email me to arrange collection:

There will be pieces to prepare for the audition which are available from the same email address.

Any queries, or if you cannot make the audition date please contact

Lyn Taylor Tel: 07749674284. email:

Sign up for exclusive updates