Category Archives: Casting

Casting, Productions

Spring Production – Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

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We are very pleased to announce that our Spring 2024 production is Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. This classic comedy will be directed by John Goodman and will be performed at the Kenton Theatre from 20th to 23rd March.

 

Synopsis:

“I have created this thing out of the squashed cabbage leaves of Covent Garden; and now she pretends to play the fine lady with me.”

Eccentric phonetics expert, Henry Higgins, thinks he can pass off a poor flower girl in polite society with a few months of elocution lessons. It turns out that spirited Eliza Doolittle has a mind and personality of her own and is not willing to lose them as easily as she sheds her cockney accent. Strong characters and great wit animate this classic comedy, and the themes of social mobility and women’s empowerment are as relevant today as when Pygmalion was first performed, over a century ago. Whether you’re a lover of classic drama or a seeker of truth, this play promises an unforgettable evening.

Pygmalion spawned many adaptations for film and stage and was recently revived at the Old Vic.

 

Cast:

Professor Henry Higgins – Peter O’Sullivan

Colonel Pickering – Mike Mungarvan

Eliza Doolittle – Christie Southwick

Alfred Doolittle – Paul Gittus

Mrs Pearce – Liz McEwen

Mrs Higgins – Eileen Pinkarchevski

Mrs Eynsford-Hill – Caroline Hopkins

Clara Eynsford- Hill – Nancy Gittus

Freddy Eynsford-Hill – Joe O’Leary

Mrs Higgins’ parlour maid – Pam Pitts-Simmons

Nepommuck – Joe O’Leary

The Ambassadress – Pam Pitts-Simmons

Casting

Spring 2023 – The Philadelphia Story

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Delighted to announce that our Spring 2023 production will be The Philadelphia Story.
We are fortunate to have a director new to the Players, John Timewell, well-known for the Garden Players’ Shakespeare productions and for numerous musicals for HAODS and other societies.
Readings will be held on 8th and 10th November in Harpsden Hall from 8.00p.m. The first audition will be on 15th November (also at 8.00p.m.) and a potential second one has been booked for 22nd November as the cast is quite large. Rehearsals will not start till after the Christmas holidays. The theatre is booked from 19th-25th March, and the playing dates will be 22nd-25th. March.
Synopsis
Philip Barry’s sparkling comedy The Philadelphia Story is a compelling mixture of wit, satire and romance which explores family relationships, class prejudice and human weakness. Wealthy, proud and beautiful, Tracy Lord is about to get married for the second time to her stuffy fiancé George Kittredge. But she hasn’t counted on Mike Connor, a principled reporter reluctantly working for a gossip weekly who has been sent to cover her wedding, and her quick-thinking, roguish first husband C. K. Dexter Haven. The presence of both men at her pre-nuptial party, a drunken midnight swim and champagne-addled declarations, forces Tracy to learn some painful lessons which knock her off her pedestal.
The Philadelphia Story was memorably filmed 1940, with James Stewart and Cary Grant starring alongside Katherine Hepburn. The musical version by Cole Porter, filmed as High Society, had Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra in the leading roles.
Characters
Dinah – Mid-teenage sister to Tracy. Intelligent and precocious.
Tracy Lord – Rich, haughty and strong willed. Divorced from C.K. Dexter Haven and about to marry George Ketteridge.
Margaret Lord – Mother of Tracy, Dinah and Sandy. Wife of Seth Lord.
Sandy Lord – Brother of Tracy. Trying to avert a family scandal being reported in the papers.
Uncle Willie – Kind hearted uncle of Tracy who likes a drink and is very flirtatious.
Mike Connor – Quality writer slumming it with a gossip publication to earn money. Strong working class principles who disapproves of the rich.
Liz Imbrie – Photographer working with Mike.
George Kitteridge – Self-made millionaire who comes from humble beginnings. Very ambitious and wants to marry into high society.
C.K. Dexter Haven – Wealthy and privileged, he comes from the same background as Tracy and was her first husband.
Seth Lord – Father of Tracy, Sandy and Dinah and husband to Margaret. Is having an affair with a young dancer, a scandal which Sandy is trying to prevent being made public.
Thomas/Elsie – An amalgam of 5 small servant roles
Casting

Audition Pieces for Saturday Sunday Monday

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We had a fantastic turnout for the readings last week for Saturday Sunday Monday and a lot of people took the audition pieces away with them but in case you didn’t or weren’t able to attend the readings please click on the links below to download them. The Auditions are at 8pm at Harpsden Hall on Tuesday and Wednesday this week so we look forward to seeing everyone there.

 

SSM Audition Pieces – Principal Roles

SSM Audition Pieces – Michele, Raffaele, Attilio, Gilulianella, Elena

SSM Audition Pieces – Federico, Dr Cerfecola, Roberto, Rocco, Virginia, Maria Carolina

Casting

Brassed off cast announced!

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Andy – Adam Bell
Gloria – Michela Evans
Danny – Richard Evans
Jim – Mike Fields
Harry – Mick Harris
Vera – Liz Keens
Rita – Jenny Sakal
Phil – Charlie McMann
Sandra – Sabrina McMann
Older Shane – Aaron Cook
Younger Shane – Freddie Formon
Melody – Louise Cook
Harmony – Sally Wheeler
Nurse Trudy – Trudy Hartwell (and just as importantly – makes the coffee!)
Nurse Louise – Louise Hemming
Bailiffs – Jenny Haywood, Richard Chambers
Announcers – Tanya Beeton, Tony Allerton

Casting

AUDITIONS for BRASSED OFF

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Brassed Off ….Ian Head will be directing this, and we are delighted to have the Marlow Brass Band with us (as many of them as we can get on the Kenton stage, anyway). The play is a poignant comedy drama dealing with the gradual shutdown of the British coal mining industry and the effects on the mining communities. The play centres on the local brass band, drawn from the pit and the local town, and its entry for a national competition at the Albert Hall, set against the background of picket lines, redundancies and the closure of the pit: the show is full of humour, drama, pathos and music, a celebration of human endeavour, and will be a great show to be involved with…plenty of acting roles, and a very different venture for us.

There will be two readings, on June 19th and June 26th, and auditions on 3rd July. If anyone wants to audition at the second reading because of summer commitments, let us know and we can arrange that. Other than that, we have the band, the music stands, the miners’ helmets and we are good to go!

Casting

Last chance to be part of this classic production!

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Sense and Sensibility is now well on the way to being cast, but there are still some roles unfilled. There will be one further audition session on Wednesday 31st May at Harpsden Hall, from 8.00pm, to complete the casting.

Roles still not cast are Sir John Middleton (bluff hearty squire), Elinor and Marianne Dashwood (the heroines), Mr. Palmer (young and henpecked), Lucy Steele (snake in the grass) and two “Gossips” (society ladies exchanging gossip at a ball….a few witty lines and a good dress each!): we know that there are several people interested, but we need more!!

Casting

Autumn 2017 Production Auditions!

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A reminder that readings and auditions for our Autumn 2107 production, Sense and Sensibility, to be directed by Julie Huntington, start as soon as the Henley Drama Festival is over.

Readings are on 9th and 11th May and auditions 16th and 18th May, all in Harpsden Hall and all starting at 8.00pm.

The character list can be found here, and audition pieces are available here, as well as being available at the readings. There is a big cast, so do come along and give the panel plenty to agonise over!

Casting

Readings and Auditions for ‘After the Dance’

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Our March 2017 production will be ‘After the Dance’ by Terence Rattigan, author of ‘The Browning Version’, ‘The Deep Blue Sea’ and ‘The Winslow Boy’. Directed by Rachel Head. Venue for readings and auditions: Harpsden Hall, 8:00 pm.

There are five female roles, and eight male, of which two double as party guests, across a range of acting ages.

Readings are on 19 and 25 October. Auditions to follow on 26th and 27th October, same time, same place. Rachel’s synopsis can be accessed here. Audition pieces can be accessed here.

Casting

Autumn 2016 production events

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The readings for Comic Potential, our Autumn 2016 production, to be directed by Mike Huntington, have been arranged for 26th. and 31st. May at Harpsden Hall, beginning at 8.00pm. These will be followed by two auditions, one on 2nd June and the other on 7th.June, both again in Harpsden Hall from 8.00pm. This is a very funny play (and a little off-the wall, if Mike has his way!), so do come along to the readings and auditions and give Mike every support. The character list and synopsis can be accessed here.