Blue Remembered Hills
Blue Remembered Hills
Performances May 2010 (Exact dates TBC).
Find out more below
Joint auditions for Blue Remembered Hills and Volpone:
Monday 7th December 8-10pm at LRERA (London Road Estate Residents Association) on Cell Barnes Lane off Drake's Drive, St. Albans.
Sunday 13th December 2-4pm at Fleetville Community Centre, Royal Road, St Albans, AL1 4QL.
About the play
This play was originally created for TV in 1979, the screenplay has been adapted for stage.
There are seven roles, which are made up of 2 girls and 5 boys. All characters are 7 years old, and all are played by adults. All seven are equally important, but Donald is key to the events that end the play.
Donald – known as ‘Donald Duck’ when the others want to taunt and upset him. He’s the abused, neglected and, arguably, the most disturbed of the children. He’s an easy target and a sympathetic character. The play ends with his death in the barn.
The 2 girls are friends and rivals. These are not cute little girls, these are manipulative and controlling characters. Angela is “the pretty one” and is both clever and manipulative. Audrey is very plain by comparison, and obviously feels overshadowed by Angela.
The boys all look up to their gang leader, Wallace Wilson, who doesn’t actually appear in the play, but is referred to throughout.
Peter and John are the toughest of the boys, and compete for 2nd place in the gang, behind the legendary Wallace Wilson.
Peter is the most aggressive, a bully, but is not very bright. John, by comparison, is fair-minded, and is a strong match for Peter in the battle for second place in the gang.
Willie is sensitive and easy-going. Raymond is the most sensitive of these 4 boys, he’s described as ‘almost always grinning’ but he stutters.
The play itself has a very simple structure. There are no secondary plots running alongside the main one. The dialogue is straightforward (once you get past the West Country accent) and the characters, being children, act without eloquence, obvious introspection or rhetoric.
The play is set on a summer afternoon, in the summer holidays of 1943, during WWII. Throughout the play (written in “real time”) we see the children as they behave when there are no adults supervising, which is often very funny, but at times it can be much darker.
The children’s behaviour ultimately leads to the death of Donald, in a fire in the barn.
Potter’s aim, when casting adults in the roles, was to “draw attention to our misplaced nostalgia for those blue remembered hills” relating to our childhood. An idyllic view of childhood, held by so many adults, is really challenged by this play.
Joint auditions for Blue Remembered Hills and Volpone:
Monday 7th December 8-10pm at LRERA (London Road Estate Residents Association) on Cell Barnes Lane off Drake's Drive, St. Albans.
Sunday 13th December 2-4pm at Fleetville Community Centre, Royal Road, St Albans, AL1 4QL.
Whilst no audition preparation is necessary for speaking parts, some cast members in “VOLPONE” will need to sing and dance. If you would like to sing or dance, then please prepare something to demonstrate your ability. If possible, take a look at “If I had A Talking Picture Of You” OR “I’m Sitting On Top Of The World” (available on iTunes).
The audition process will involve some physical workshop activities, so please wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
The auditions will be open auditions. Everybody is welcome to attend, so please pass this notice on to anyone that you feel may be interested.
If you require any further information, please contact Pippa for Blue Remembered Hills (pippa.wright@ntlworld.com) and Emma for Volpone (edinoulis@yahoo.co.uk)