Auditions – 2024 Season

By William Gaminara; Directed by Jason Munn

Performance: 12^th – 17^th August 2024
Casting: Monday 10^th June 2024

A sharp, hilarious behind-the-scenes glimpse of diplomacy in action, centering on England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup.

A footballer, a prince and a prime minister walk into a hotel room…

David Beckham, Prince William and David Cameron are in Zurich the night before England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup. Between them they thrash out a plan that will woo FIFA and bring the beautiful game home. But as precious minutes tick by things start to go disastrously and deliciously wrong. Whatever else is at stake, this is more, much more, than a question of sport…

Cast:

• Vikram/Ashok (played by the same actor) – An Indian hotel porter, not very good at his job – neither is he interested. British accent. Vikram’s twin brother. Discreet, loyal, and extremely enamoured of the British Empire. Encyclopedic knowledge of British sporting achievements, especially cricket. Indian accent. Any age.
• Penny – Intern of the Conservative party. Public school educated – no qualifications! She gets to please, and starstruck by David Beckham. Very posh / RP accent. Mid 20s.
• David Beckham – Football superstar with an eye for fashion. Brighter than he looks. South London accent. Late 30s.
• David Cameron – Leader of the Conservative party. Exasperated by his fellows. A bit of a twit who is trying to be better. Posh accent. Mid 40s.
• Prince William – Charming, endearing, a bit of a joker. Name dropper. Very posh / RP accent. Early 30s.
• Lachlan – A large good looking Australian man in his 30s. Surfer dude. Australian accent.

Contact Details: squeegie22@me.com

By Conor McPherson; Directed by Claire Whitehouse

Performance: 12^th – 14^th September 2024
Casting: Date to be announced

The Weir is a play set in a small rural bar in North West Leitrim or Sligo. The story revolves around a group of locals – Jack, a mechanic, Brendan, the bartender, Finbar, another local, and Jim, who gather at the bar on a windy evening. They discuss Finbar’s new tenant, Valerie, a woman from Dublin, and share ghost stories about their encounters with the supernatural. As the night unfolds, Valerie reveals her own tragic past, mourning the loss of her daughter, Niamh. The play explores themes of loneliness, loss, and the power of storytelling to connect people, leaving the characters with a sense of hope for the future.

Cast Required

• Finbar – A local businessman in his late forties.
• Jack – A mechanic and garage owner in his fifties.
• Valerie – A Dublin woman in her thirties.
• Jim – Jack’s assistant, in his forties.
• Brendan – The owner of the pub in which the play is set. In his thirties.

A note about gender. There will be some flexibility around the gender of some of the characters. In Conor McPherson’s play The Weir, two male characters could potentially be portrayed as female. With some adaptation to the script and character backgrounds, these rôles could be reimagined as female characters, in order to accommodate the availability of actors in Carlisle.

Contact Details: clairemaubrey@gmail.com

By Jeremy Sams, original authors John Esmonde and Bob Larbey; Directed by Verity Ramsden

Performance: 7^th – 12^th October 2024
Casting: Tuesday 11^th June 2024

When Tom and Barbara Good decide to exchange the pressures of the rat race for an alternative, more sustainable way of living, they set about turning their suburban home in Surbiton into a model of self-sufficiency. They grow their own fruit and veg, keep livestock in the garden, make their own clothes, and even generate their own electricity from manure.

Cast Required

• Tom Good – Male, 40s
• Barbara Good – Female, 30s/40s
• Margo Leadbetter – Female, 30s – 50s
• Jerry Leadbetter – Male, 40s or early 50s
• Male actor – To play multiple roles (with amusing quick changes): Harry the  pigman, Policeman, Dr Joe.  20s-50s.
• Female actor – To play multiple roles (with amusing quick changes): Margaret the secretary, Milkwoman, Mary the Receptionist 20s-40s.
• ‘Sir’ aka Andrew Ferguson – Tom and Jerry’s Boss.  Male, 60
• Felicity Ferguson – Sir’s wife. A vivacious woman 50+

NB – Sir and Felicity could also be played by the actors playing the multi-rôles, but could be cast separately)

Contact Details: verity.ramsden@gmail.com