The Rondo Theatre Company is auditioning for E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children which will be staged at the Rondo Theatre in Bath from Thursday 24th - Saturday 26th November 2022.
Auditions will be held on Sunday 12 June from 1:30pm - 3:30pm & Monday 13 June from 7:30pm - 9:30pm at the Rondo Theatre, St Saviours Road, Larkhall, Bath BA1 6RT. You only need to attend one of the audition dates.
Please note we are only looking for people aged 18+ for this production.
This production is an amateur production so all roles are non-paid.
For more information and to register interest please contact Luke John Emmett:lukejohnemmett@hotmail.com or Alana Wright: alana.wright@hotmail.com
About The Show:
Based on the much-loved children’s novel by E. Nesbit, this adaptation played to critical acclaim at London’s Waterloo Station and the National Railway Museum in York.
Famously filmed, this story of a prosperous Edwardian family - mother and three children - forced into near-penury in the rural north of England captures the anxieties and exhilarations of childhood with great tenderness and insight.
The cast will have the opportunity to multirole in this chorus-led production.
Cast Breakdown:
Roberta (Bobby):
RP Accent. 11 years old in the novel. The oldest of the three children. Deeply sensitive. Has the urge to want to help everyone. Brave, Loving, Caring. A silent maturity above her years. Key storyteller who hold a lot of the narrative together.
Phyllis (Phyl):
RP Accent. The youngest of the three children. “She means well”. Slightly clumsy. Cheeky. Constantly bickering with Peter. Naive, sensitive, brave. Ideally a slightly shorter actor than Roberta.
Peter:
RP Accent. The middle child. Clever. Brave. Honest. Bickers with Phyl. Comes up with a lot of the solutions in the story. Ideally taller than Phyl.
Mother:
RP Accent. Holds the entire story and family together. Incredibly brave. Intelligent. Loving. Must be able to show the weight of the situation going on in the background at the same time as putting on a brave face for the children.
Mr Perks:
Yorkshire accent. Salt-of-the-earth. Loveable. Plain speaking. Always happy to help. Must have a constant energy and bounciness about him. Brings a certain element of comedy to the show. A character with strong principles. Interacts with the audience.
For multi-role characters - You’ll need to demonstrate the ability to play multiple distinguishable characters and accents. You will be involved in some way in most of the scenes and action.
FATHER / DOCTOR / RAILWAY MAN
Father is loving and caring. Quite a small but vital role. RP Accent. Smartly dressed. Well spoken.
Doctor - Broad Yorkshire accent. Lovable character but not without his faults.
Railway Man - Small role. Helps with scene changes. Broad Yorkshire accent.
MRS PERKS / BETWEEN MAID
Mrs Perks: Speaks her mind. Broad Yorkshire accent. Has raised a huge number of children in a small little house. Brilliant mother and partner to Perks.
Between Maid: London accent. Small role which re-appears in Act 2 as a Yorkshire Maid
MRS VINEY / COOK
Mrs Viney: Broad Yorkshire Accent. No nonsense Yorkshire lady. Salt of the earth.
Cook: Slightly grumpy. Downtrodden. London Accent. Re-appears in Act 2 as Yorkshire Cook.
BUTLER / SCHEPANSKI / DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT
Butler: Well spoken. Hold himself well. Very proper and upright. RP Accent.
Schepanski: Russian Accent. Ideally comfortable with Russia / French (pronunciation is provided in the script). Desperate but kind.
D.S. : Head of the Railway. Well spoken. Slight hint of Yorkshire accent perhaps?
JIM / RAILWAY MAN / POLICEMAN
Jim: Young. Energetic. RP Voice. Charming.
Railway Man: Broad Yorkshire accent. Helps with scene changes as well.
Policeman: Small role to arrest Father.
OLD GENT / POLICEMAN
Old Gent: Lovable. Warm. Friendly. Older gentleman. RP accent. Educated.
Policeman: Small role to arrest father
PERKS’ CHILDREN / PAPER CHASE BOYS
Small roles played by members of the company. Perks’ Children are Yorkshire born and raised.
Paper Chase are public school boys.
About the audition - what are we looking for?
We would like to openly encourage anyone who wishes to audition to come along and join us. We particularly welcome people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. All are welcome.
Please wear comfortable clothes & shoes that you can move in. You will be required to move around during the workshop/audition. We will be creating some improvised scenes to play with different characters and also playing with some of the script.
A lot of the play is based on storytelling so we'd like to see you showcase your abilities in this area. We will have passages available for you to read at the audition or you may prefer to bring your own. This could be one you’ve written yourself or an extract of one that’s already published. It doesn’t have to be long but a passage that includes some action, for example a fairytale or one of Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, would be helpful.
If you would find it useful to have a copy of the scripted pieces in advance or on different colour paper please contact us beforehand to let us know. Please let us know of any other access accommodations you may have.
More than anything we are looking for enthusiasm and boundless energy. If that sounds like you then come and join us!
We look forward to meeting you soon.
Best wishes
Luke & Alana
