Following open auditions in November and December our March production of Colder Than Here by Laura Wade has now been cast as follows:
Myra – Julia Charlton
Alec – Jez Ashberry
Harriet – Holly Turner
Jenna – Fraya Grove
Rehearsals have begun and the play can be seen at The Blue Room at The Lawn in Lincoln from 13th to 15th March 2019.
Look out for further auditions for our May 2019 production of The Talented Mr Ripley.
We’re auditioning for our next two productions – Colder Than Here and The Talented Mr Ripley – at the end of November!
COLDER THAN HERE
by Laura Wade
Audition: 7:30 pm Tuesday 27th November in The Kennel, The Dog & Bone, John Street, Lincoln LN2 5BH.
Nobody can ignore the fact that Myra is dying, but in the meantime life goes on. There are boilers to be fixed, cats to be fed and the perfect funeral to be planned. As a mother researches burial plots and biodegradable coffins, her family are finally forced to communicate with her, and each other, as they face up to an unpredictable future. Wade’s original and beautifully observed play balances raw emotion with a deliciously delicate black humour.
Roles available:
Myra is mid-50s, practical, well organised, a no-nonsense working mum. She’s terminally ill but is much more worried about what will happen to her dysfunctional family once she’d gone.
Alec is also mid-50s. He has been in the same job for years. A quiet man with a very dry sense of humour. He can’t get a grip on what’s happening in his family.
Harriet, their daughter, is late 20s/early 30s. She is grounded, level-headed and in a supportive relationship. She seems to be coping with her mother’s illness, but she’s really not that strong.
Jenna, their second daughter, is mid/late 20s. She’s the baby of the family. She’s had some broken relationships and has suffered with an eating disorder. She’s not coping.
Performances: The play will be staged in The Blue Room with get-in tech and dress rehearsal on Monday 11th March and evening performances from Wednesday 13th to Friday 15th March 2019.
For the audition please bring along a short piece of poetry or prose that has a strong meaning for you. We will also use a scene from the play for audition. Please also be aware that you should be comfortable with improvisation exercises as we will be using some of these during the rehearsal process.
If you have any questions or you’re interested but can’t come on this date, contact the director, Julia Ross (jlross51@gmail.com).
THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY
Adapted by Phyllis Nagy from the novel by Patricia Highsmith
Audition: 7:30pm Wednesday 28th November, Bracebridge Infants School, Ewart Street, Lincoln LN5 8QE (Note – not the Francis Street entrance).
A case of mistaken identity leads Tom Ripley, a charming yet dangerous psychopath, to travel away from his dull life in America to the far more glamorous Italy. His task: to bring Richard Greenleaf home to his devoted parents. However, Tom begins to enjoy his new fictitious life with Richard a little too much and he becomes consumed in the lies he’s told. Unfortunately for some, their encounters with Tom prove to be deadly.
Roles available:
Tom Ripley – 20-30, American. Charming and measured and highly intelligent. He is very good at luring people in to his lies and is somewhat likeable despite being a psychopath with murderous tendencies.
Richard Greenleaf – 20-30, American. A rich young man who lacks motivation or real direction. He is a genuinely good soul, utterly lacking in suspicion or cynicism.
Marge Sherwood – 20-30, American. Romantically involved with Richard. She is intelligent, no-nonsense and wary of Ripley. She has a zest for life.
Freddie Miles – 20-30, American. A school friend of Richard’s. He is good natured and highly intuitive to situations and people.
Herbert Greenleaf – 50+, American. Richard’s father. He is charming, rich and convinced he knows who Tom is and fully trusts him. He’s hurt very much by his wife’s illness but remains cool and calm regardless.
Emily Greenleaf –50+, American. Richard’s mother. Has a terminal illness that her son is unaware of. It’s difficult to know when she is acting as her true self and when her illness is making her act out somewhat. There’s a slight dark humour to her character.
Aunt Dottie – 50+, American. Tom’s Aunt. Resentful that she has had to look after Tom since the death of his mother. A harsh but typical ‘mad aunt’.
Marc Priminger – 20-30, American. Tom’s friend. He has a good-natured, jokey personality.
Fausto – Italian. A naïve, cheeky, playful teenager. Lots of energy.
Tenente Roverini – Italian. A police lieutenant.
Sophia – Italian. A prostitute, flirtatious but feisty and no-nonsense.
Silvio – 20+, Italian. A young, playful gigolo.
Reddington – 20+, American. A gullible cartoonist.
Performances: The get in, tech and dress rehearsal will be on Tuesday 14th May 2019 followed by evening performances from Wednesday 15th to Friday 17th May 2019 at Lincoln Drill Hall.
The audition will be informal and everyone is welcome. Audition pieces will be provided on the night and people will be asked to read in small groups or pairs. While you don’t need to bring anything with you, please come prepared to attempt the accents required. Also, the characters have so much depth that a little research into the play and characters will be helpful.
If you have any questions or you’re interested but can’t come on this date, contact the director, Fraya Grove (frayagrove@hotmail.co.uk).
We are pleased to confirm the following dates for our three productions in 2019 and our spring production in 2020:
Colder Than Here by Laura Wade
Directed by Julia Ross
13th to 15th March 2019, The Blue Room, Lincoln
Auditions in November – watch this space!
An unlikely comedy about a woman who’s dying of bone cancer and her family coming to terms with her impending death.
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, adapted by Phyllis Nagy
Directed by Fraya Grove
15th to 17th May 2019, Lincoln Drill Hall (main auditorium)
Auditions in November – watch this space!
When Tom Ripley is sent to Italy to track down Richard Greenleaf, the errant son of a wealthy American couple, his mission takes on a sinister twist
as their lives become inextricably entwined.
Educating Rita, by Willy Russell
Directed by David Thew
Autumn 2019, The Room Upstairs, Lincoln Drill Hall
An ambitious hairdresser and an alcoholic university tutor strike up an unlikely friendship in this classic Willy Russell play which has contemporary echoes of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.
The Ladykillers by Graham Linehan
Directed by Colin Brimblecombe
Spring 2020, Lincoln Drill Hall
This stage adaptation by Graham Linehan (Father Ted, The IT Crowd) of the 1955 Ealing comedy tells the story of what happens to a gang of criminals when they decide to hide from the law in the house of an innocent old lady.
If you’d like to be involved in any of the above productions contact our secretary Su Toogood: common.ground@ntlworld.com
Unfortunately we have had to postpone our production of Willy Russell’s play Educating Rita, which was to have been performed in The Room Upstairs at Lincoln Drill Hall in October.
If you have already bought tickets you can get a full refund at the Drill Hall box office.
Look out for news of when this timeless classic will be returning!
We’re pleased to announce that we have successfully cast our autumn production of Educating Rita by Willy Russell.
The part of Frank will be played by Colin Brimblecombe while Rita will be played by a newcomer to our company, Vicky McLelland.
Congratulations to Colin and Vicky and thanks to everyone else who auditioned for the parts.
Rehearsals will begin soon under the leadership of director David Thew and the play can be seen over three nights in The Room Upstairs at Lincoln Drill Hall in October 2018.
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