July 4, 2017
The Game’s Afoot reading/casting
Monday 17th July – First readthrough of The Game’s Afoot by Ken Ludwig – Cheriton Village Hall 7.30pm, all welcome.
Wednesday 19th July – Auditions/casting of The Game’s Afoot by Ken Ludwig – Cheriton Village Hall 7.30pm.
If you are thinking of coming along, you will be most welcome (whether you are a member or not at this stage). Helena Gomm, director, writes:
The Game’s Afoot
This is a comedy whodunnit set at Christmas in the mansion of William Gillette, an actor who has made a name for himself playing Sherlock Holmes in a very long-running play. The original play is set in the USA, but we will be moving it to the UK, so no US accents will be needed. The year is 1936.
The characters are as follows (ages are very approximate and depend on the rest of the casting):
William Gillette
40s to 60s. He is an actor who lives alone with his mother in an art deco mansion he has just had built on the banks of the Thames at Henley. He likes new-fangled technology and his house has microphones that record what is said in each room, a speaker entryphone at the door and a revolving bookcase that reveals a bar (or a body!). He also plays Holmes in the opening scene.
Martha Gillette
60s to 90s. William Gillette’s mother. She is generally frail and a bit dotty, but occasionally she can be quite sharp, especially when she is defending her son. She is very welcoming to William’s guests, some of whom she has known since they were starting out in the theatre, as she was, herself, an actress.
Felix Geisel
40s to 60s. A long-term friend of William’s who has been in the long run of the Sherlock Holmes play in the West End. He also plays Moriarty in the first scene. He, his wife Madge and William play an irritating game of Shakespeare quotation one-upmanship which has obviously been going on for years.
Madge Geisel
40s to 60s. Another actress in the play and married to Felix. In the first scene, she plays Marian. She is glamorous, quite flamboyant and bright. She appears to mistrust her husband and this may or may not be well founded.
Aggie Wheeler
25 to 30 An actress (she plays Alice in the first scene). Recently married to Simon and they are about to break the news to the others. Smart, bright and pleasant.
Simon Bright
25 to 30 An actor (he plays Count Zerlinsky in the first scene). Recently married to Aggie and they are about to break the news to the others. He is good-natured and affectionate.
Daria Chase
25 to 50 A glamorous and very bitchy theatre critic who probably comes from quite humble beginnings and has dragged herself up the society ladder by her own efforts. She is sharp, witty and cruel. She spends a lot of the play as a body being dragged around and hidden, but keeps coming back to life in spectacular fashion.
Inspector Goring
Any age. Written as a female part, but could be played as a man. As a female part, I see her as very much like Vera in the ITV series starring Brenda Blethyn. She is unconventional but very intelligent.