Fifteen-year-old Christopher is brilliant but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured beyond the end of his street, but now he is determined to uncover who killed his neighbour’s dog.

His relentless detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that turns his world upside-down. Based on the best-selling novel, this life-affirming play has won multiple Tony and Olivier Awards including Best Play in London and New York.

The play is told from Christopher’s own unique perspective on the world and it’s this which makes the production so exciting, running through to all aspects of the production.

The entire cast must remain on stage throughout most of the play, with scenes running into one another without interruption, regardless of alterations in space, time or chronology. This means the entire cast will become a very cohesive team on stage for a physically demanding but creatively rewarding production.

This production will work on developing a performance ensemble, rather than segregating principal and secondary characters. There are 22 incidental characters that populate the story, and the scenes progress rapidly through many locations so there will be many rapid character changes needed on stage.

All auditionees must be comfortable with movement (no dance experience required) and require a positive approach to collaborative devising and working physically to create a world Christopher is imagining or realising for the first time.

The play is set in Swindon and London. Some characters may require a Swindon accent.

The Ensemble

Six multi-talented actors playing a diverse range of key roles throughout the play and heavily involved in movement.

Roles:

• Christopher Boone - 15, male, The central character to the play, Christopher knows an incredible amount about mathematics and space. Christopher also finds people confusing and struggles to understand feelings and emotions. During the play, Christopher not only has to solve the case of who killed Wellington, but also a mystery much closer to home. His difficulty understanding social cues, a fixation on certain topics & extraordinary computer-like ability with numbers, strongly suggest Christopher has a form of autism, although it is never diagnosed or mentioned in the script. He is ill-equipped socially, leading him to frequently misunderstand people and so he avoids social interaction. His determination to overcome these challenges to find the truth makes the role so powerful. Prepare to bring your audition to life physically.
• Siobhan - Late 20s-Early 30s, female, Siobhan is Christopher’s teacher at school who he undoubtedly trusts. She knows him well and understands how to communicate with him effectively. Siobhan encourages Christopher to write a story that he would want to read, and in turn becomes almost the engaging narrator of the play, helping to tell Christopher’s story. Siobhan is a large part giving a wonderful opportunity to portray an inspiringly kind woman whilst being at the helm of the play’s narrative throughout.
• Ed - Late 30s-Late 40s, male, Christopher’s father. At the beginning of the play, he cares for Christopher alone after the loss of his wife. He is patient and understands Christopher, however at times he becomes exasperated with him. Ed harbours a secret that risks potentially destroying his and Christopher’s relationship. Whilst patient, caring, hard- working and determined to see his son succeed, Ed can also be fiery tempered, his volatility shows a very human touch as his temper flares from him being wounded by stressful events which include caring for Christopher by himself. Flawed but not villainous is the key- a layered character for an auditionee to show emotion, tenderness and charisma.
• Judy - Late 30s-Late 40s, female, Christopher’s mother. She found it a hard task raising him, often shouting as she did not know how best to support him. As the play progresses, we learn more about Judy. Initially we view her, and Judy's letters show that though she loves Christopher dearly, she was unable to cope with the harsh realities of Christopher's condition. Judy should not be played as a villain for her choices but with sympathy and diligence and some degree of guilt.
• Mrs Alexander - Christopher’s kind, well-intentioned neighbour who recognises Christopher is unable to follow social cues and tries different tactics to engage him. She mistakenly shares a shocking revelation to Christopher, but she is not a gossip; definitely not a one dimensional stereotypical “old lady” role and will be a strong part of the ensemble playing several characters and involved in the physicality and movement of the play.
  Posh Woman
  Voice Six
  - 60s-Early 70s, female, A part of the Ensemble.
• Mrs Shears
  Mrs Gascoyne
  Voice One
  Woman on Train
  Woman on Heath
  Shopkeeper
  - 40s, female, A strong auditionee to become a solid part of the ensemble and to play a multitude of characters including the feisty neighbour Mrs Shears. Again, must be comfortable with movement and a positive approach to collaborative devising.
• Mr Shears - As the play progresses, we discover more about Roger Shears and his relationship with Mrs Shears, and his involvement in Christophers life. At times a violent man who cares little for Christopher’s needs and feelings.
  Duty Sergeant
  Voice Two
  Mr Wise
  Man Behind Counter
  Drunk One
  - 40s, male, A part of the Ensemble.
• Policeman One
  Mr Thompson
  Voice Three
  Drunk Two
  Man with Socks
  London Policeman
  - 20s-30s, male, A part of the Ensemble.
• No. 4O
  Voice Five
  Lady in Street
  Information
  Punk Girl
  - 20s, female, A part of the Ensemble.
• Rev. Peters
  Uncle Terry
  Voice Four
  Station Policeman
  Station Guard
  - 30s-50s, male, A part of the Ensemble.

This heart-warming play centres around Robin and Jacqui, both confined to their homes owing to a phobia of satellites falling from the sky. They meet in a phobia chat room and become friends...can they become more if they can't leave?

Robin is living with his mum, while Jacqui has moved back with her dad. Robin speaks to a counsellor and we meet a friendly courier. Further character details in the next newsletter in the meantime if you would like a script to look over please get in touch.