Audition Notices
Guards! Guards!
Auditions:
About the Production:
The world of Pratchett awaits!
Do you wish to enlist in the City Watch, or perhaps there’s another role in Ankh-Morkpork just perfect for you. It will be expected that you can commit to rehearsal evenings (most likely Mondays, Thursdays and some Sundays).
No need to worry about learning the lines before the audition, scripts will be handed out on the night.
Roles:
- CAPTAIN VIMES - 30+, Male, The disillusioned leader of the Night Watch. Has a sense of duty and justice drowned in cynicism. Has an aversion to the aristocracy and bureaucracy.
- CARROT - 20+, Male, Simple but not stupid. Carrot sees things clearer than most, and not just because he’s over six feet tall. This fresh-faced recruit is ready to enforce the rules that the citizens of Ankh-Morpork assumed were just helpful suggestions.
- CORPORAL NOBBS - 30+, Male, Wily is the polite word. Shameless might be more accurate. A member of the Watch, street smart enough to know that surviving Ankh-Morpork means running away from the action.
- SERGEANT COLON - 30+, Male, Fred has survived many years on the Watch by ensuring he does not find himself near potential crime scenes. Fuelled by the sandwiches his wife makes, Sergeant Colon strives to survive the streets of Ankh-Morpork with as little fuss as possible.
- LADY SYBIL RAMKIN - 30+, Female, If the upper class had an upper class, Lady Sybil would be it. A keen breeder of swamp dragons, who will protect them at any cost. She is no damsel in distress and have mercy on those who would try and kidnap her.
- FOOTNOTE - Less a narrator, more a handy appendix for all things Ankh-Morpork.
- THE PATRICIAN - The key to ruling this city is to ensure you’re a better option than anyone else. Failing that, awkward silences do wonders to remove any doubters, as does the dungeon.
- THE LIBRARIAN - Ook. Eek. Congratulations, you’ve just learnt all of the librarian’s lines! Now how do you feel about orangutans…? (may require someone with sturdy knees for lots of crouching!)
- THE DRAGON - (pre-recorded) They might’ve been summoned but they won’t be controlled. Who needs negotiations when you have size, speed, strength and the ability to eradicate a good few metres of architecture with fiery breath?
- MEMBERS OF THE ELUCIDATED BRETHREN - Would-be rulers of the realm barring a lack of resources, intelligence, competency etc. But the fancy black robes and masks are pretty neat! This secret society will bring the dragon back but who’s going to return it afterwards?
Supporting roles / Chorus (may be doubled)
- Citizens
- Servants
- Guards
- Warriors
- Death!
N.B.
- Ages are a rough guide.
Rhinoceros
Auditions:
About the Production:
Rehearsing from late January.
Plot Summary:
“Who knows what is good and what is evil? You’re only concerned with yourself. That’s the truth. But you’ll never really become a rhinoceros… you haven’t got the chops!”
Normal everyday life in a small town on the edge of the country. A greengrocer, a cafe, a lost cat. And flags gently waving on lamposts, it all seems very familiar… Jean and Berenger meet for a drink, but what is lurking on the edges of the town?
When the impossible materialises in the form of an unexpected, and much debated rhinoceros the townsfolk begin to question what is real. And furthermore what is normal?
As people attempt to continue everyday life amid the crisis of rising levels of Rhinonceritis, is holding onto their humanity more trouble than it’s worth? Jean begs his friends and colleagues not to succumb and he is invited to consider his own sanity in the face of the pressure to conform. Which is more absurd, becoming a Rhinoceros or questioning the herd mentality?
This production:
Originally written in French with a strong anti-facist message we will be updating some of the language and references to make sure the audience understands how relevant this story is to our own time, as much as in 1937.
Our version of the play will be set in millennial times (might be anything 1990-2015) in a small town quite near Gatwick airport. The acting and design in this production will at times be exaggerated and larger than life. Directing will be collaborative. We will be encouraging the audience to participate in the action and feel part of the story. Smaller roles will very much be part of the action and scene setting, creating the atmosphere, and sometimes the set. Actors will be using their bodies as objects, for sound effects and for comical effect.
Roles:
Larger roles
- Berenger - 25-40, The lazy, alienated, and heavy-drinking protagonist who resists conforming. But he is also strong willed and kind, the only character left human at the end of the play. Appears throughout the whole play.
- Jean - 30-45, Berenger’s arrogant, rational, and well-dressed friend who eventually transforms into a rhinoceros. Appears in 3 out of 4 scenes. Older than Berenger.
Medium size roles
- Daisy - 18+, Berenger’s love interest and an office coworker. Appears in 3 out of 4 scenes.
- Dudard - 25+, An intellectual office coworker and rival for Daisy's affection. Appears in 2 scenes.
Office workers (could be doubled)
- Botard - 50+, A cynical, skeptical senior office worker.
- Mr. Papillon - 40+, The office head/boss.
- Mrs. Bœuf - A devoted wife who jumps after her transformed husband.
Townspeople (could be doubled)
- The Logician - A pedantic character who strictly trusts abstract logic.
- The old(er) gentleman (or Lady) - Polite and old fashioned
- Grocer - Keen to do business
- Grocer’s wife - A busybody and gossip
- Housewife (and her beloved cat) - Distraught when her cat is hurt
- Cafe owner - A tough boss
- Waiter/ress - A sensible, efficient worker even when all around is madness
- The firefighter - Non-speaking
N.B.
- Ages are a rough guide.