Sewell Barn Theatre, Constitution Hill, Norwich NR3 4BB               Ticket sales: 0333 666 3366                  Sewell Barn Trust: Registered Charity No 277724

The Sewell Barn Company

Auditioning for the Sewell Barn

Audition Notice: STILL LIFE and RED PEPPERS by Noel Coward

Director: Cassie Tillett

Contact details: cassie@tillett.org.uk / 07802 475110

Performance dates:  2-4, 8-11 March (including a matinee on 11 March) 2023

Audition: 6 November 2022 (with possible alternative dates and/or recalls as required)

THE PLAYS

These two short plays were part of Coward’s sequence Tonight at 8:30. The nine shows were originally played as three shows in one evening, usually with the same actors appearing in all three. We have decided to present two of the shows. Still Life plays for 1 hour, and Red Peppers 30 minutes (both approximate). Both will be set in the 1930s when they were written.

Still Life (SL) is well known in its 1945 film version, Brief Encounter (which starred Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in the lead roles). It follows the story of the unexpected, intense affair of two highly respectable people (Alec and Laura), both happily married, who meet in the railway station café when Laura gets some grit in her eye from the smoky railway, and Alec (who is a doctor) helps her to deal with it. The social background of the story, nearly ninety years ago, is very different to our own, but the sincerity of the principal characters, carried away and tormented by a deep attraction that they could never have foreseen, is timeless.

Red Peppers (RP) is ‘an interlude with music’. George & Lily Pepper are a (not very talented) music hall act, as well as warring husband and wife. They perform two song-and-dance routines, along with typical bad jokes, and both routines hit the skids for various reasons. Their backstage rows with the manager, the musical director and other artistes are funny, fast-moving, and rather painful. The actors playing George and Lily must be able to ‘put over’ the music hall style, and to be capable of song-and-dance – in other words, they need to be able to do it reasonably well in order to do it badly!

CASTING:  10 actors - 5M/5F

As both plays are fairly short, and some of the roles are quite small (though vital), I am keen to do as much double-casting between the two plays as possible. One role is already cast: Bert Bentley, the musical director in RP, will be played by Selwyn Tillett, and he will be stage manager for SL. I’d like to do the same thing the other way round, with the young woman playing the cameo of Mildred in SL being stage manager for RP. NB: All ages have some flexibility, but are likely to work in the ranges shown; they will also depend on a certain amount of partnering and the double-casting. Potential double-cast suggestions are shown in italics belowthe character notes for Still Life (which has the larger cast list). These are not set in stone – people are welcome to audition for just one character, large or small – but this structure would allow me to keep the company down to 10 people, including two stage managers, which is my preference. It also allows the arrangement to emulate Coward’s original concept of ‘repertory’ casting.

STILL LIFE

Laura (F 30s/40s) - A middle-class housewife: refined, gentle, polite, happily married.

Alec (M 40s) - A doctor: intelligence, sensitivity and authority. Double cast: Mr Edwards

Myrtle (F 50s/60s) - The café owner: a working-class widow with a strong sense of refinement. Double cast: Mabel Grace

 

Albert (M 40s/50s) - The ticket inspector: chirpy, chatty, fancies Myrtle. Double cast: George

Dolly (F 40s-50s) - Laura’s friend, who interrupts Alec and Laura’s final goodbye. Friendly, unobservant, insensitive. Double cast: Lily

Beryl (F 20s) - The café assistant: young, inexperienced, under Myrtle’s thumb; fancies Stanley.

Stanley (M 20s-30s) - The café seller: cheerful and perky; fancies Beryl.

Mildred (F 20s) - Beryl’s friend, who comes to advise her that her mother is very ill. Double cast: stage manager for RP

Bill (M 20s) - (Originally 2 soldiers.) Cheeky, rather arrogant, feels he’s entitled to favours as a soldier.

Double cast: Alf.

RED PEPPERS

George (M) and Lily (F) both 40s/50s

A down-at-heel music hall act and husband-and-wife team, prone to bickering, have made a low-grade living on the halls for a long time but not really very good. Two song-and-dance numbers.

Bert - Musical director: already cast

Mr Edwards (40s/50s) - The theatre manager: imposing, powerful.

Mabel Grace (F 50s/60s) - A faded grande dame of the theatre.

Alf (20s) - A cheeky call-boy.

REHEARSAL DETAILS

We will not rehearse on either Saturdays (any time) or Sunday mornings, but all other evenings and Sunday afternoons are possible. There will be (approximately) three rehearsals per week for the first month, potentially increasing to four after we have got in to the Barn, and the usual commitment during tech, dress rehearsals and show weeks. Of course, not all performers will be required at all rehearsals, especially the smaller characters.

Rehearsals will begin in early December 2022; there will also be a couple of music rehearsals during the month before this, but this will apply only to George and Lily Pepper in RP. A readthrough will be arranged as soon as possible after the plays have been fully cast.

AUDITION DETAILS

 Please read the scripts if possible before auditioning. They can be found in many Coward compilations, including those specific to the Tonight at 8:30 sequence, or as individual scripts; they should be easy to find at the local library. (If you're buying a script, please ensure it's the one we'll be using as shown at the foot of these notes; if you're cast, we all need to be working from the same pagination!)

 You don't need to be off-book for auditions (unless you want to!), but do ensure you are familiar enough with speeches to be able to deliver them with confidence and characterisation.

 Specific audition speeches for the various characters will be made available nearer the time.

 Please email the director to express your interest and book an audition slot.

SCRIPTS

Still Life: ISBN 9780573022555

Red Peppers: ISBN 9780573624421 (acting version downloadable)

(both Samuel French/Concord: www.concordtheatricals.co.uk)