By Peter van Manen
Directed by Siobhan James & Peter van Manen
Choreography by Kirsty Hudson & Monty Camisa-Bundy
Music by Philippa Lucas
Read through: Wed 30th August 2017 at 8pm
Audition dates:
Sunday 10th Sept at 2pm & Tues 12th Sept at 8pm
Rehearsals:
Tues & Thurs 8pm, Sun 2pm, starting October
About the melodrama:
Septimus Sloane is the founder of Sloane Pharmaceuticals and inventor of the youth serum “Dorian”. He wants to marry his young assistant, Sally Forth, but his seven daughters are not happy about it. Neither are Beryl, Olive and Old Rene, the ladies who look after the house and kitchen. Meanwhile, Septimus’s archrival, Darius Du Bad, is intent on stealing the formula for “Dorian” and the heart of Septimus’s pretty daughter, Daisy. Beryl’s handsome son, Melvin, is none too happy about this as he is in love with Daisy himself.
Dastardly deeds are aplenty in this ‘whodunnit’ musical melodrama full of secrets, live music, laughter and dancing. There are 26 juicy parts for adults and members of the youth theatre.
Characters:
Septimus’s daughters (suitable for young ladies up to 30 years old)
Sabrina (*) – nasty
Samantha (*) – haughty
Sasha – naughty
Stephanie – spoiled
Susan – geeky
Sharon (*) – flirty
Daisy (*) – sweet (and secretly in love with Melvin)
Murgatroyd – Septimus’s butler / Cadbury – Darius’s butler (adult)
Dr Septimus Sloane (adult)
Melvin Close – lawyer (suitable for a young man up to 30 years old)
Dr Sally Forth – Septimus’s assistant & fiancé (adult)
Dr Darius Du Bad (*) – Septimus’s rival (adult)
Craven Coward – Darius’s sidekick (adult)
Bozo – a clown (youth or adult)
Coco – a clown (youth or adult)
Crusty – a clown (youth or adult)
Hughie – a hoodlum (youth or adult)
Llewy – a hoodlum (youth or adult)
Chewy – a hoodlum (youth or adult)
Willie Growmore – gardener (adult)
Beryl Close – cook & Melvin’s mother (adult)
Olive Hurlone – housekeeper (adult)
Old Rene – nanny (adult)
Joyce Bricks – Septimus’s Private Secretary (adult)
Inspector Little – a police inspector (adult)
PC Plenty – a police constable (adult)
Audition information:
We encourage anybody who can attend to join us at the read-through on the Wednesday evening after the August Bank holiday weekend. It should be a fun evening and will give you an insight into the plot and characters of this dastardly tale – plus perhaps a sing-song or two!
The auditions will be held on the stage and include reading through parts and some movement and singing. Anybody auditioning for parts marked (*) will be expected to sing a song at the auditions. Everybody is involved in chorus numbers at least some point during the production. Characters marked in bold are the principal heroes and villains.
In the interests of avoiding spoilers, full scripts will not be circulated before the read-through. However, a PDF of Act One and Act Two, Scene 2 (policemen’s entrance), will be made available upon request from peter.vanmanen@icloud.com
