Auditions: "Private Lives" by Noel Coward
Schedule
Sat Nov 02 2024 at 10:00 am to Sun Nov 03 2024 at 05:00 pm
UTC+13:00Location
Toi Poneke Arts Centre | Wellington, WG
Stagecraft presents:"Private Lives"
Written by Noel Coward
Directed by Janet Noble
5-15 February 2025
Gryphon Theatre, Wellington
ABOUT THE PLAY:
“Has it ever struck you that flippancy might cover a very real embarrassment?”
It’s the summer of 1930. Five years earlier, Amanda and Elyot divorced, after a tempestuous marriage. Much to their mutual horror, they discover that they have booked adjacent rooms with a shared balcony for the first night of their respective honeymoons with new spouses. After unsuccessfully trying to get away, the former lovers find themselves in the moonlight, reminiscing over cocktails as the song they fell in love to plays in the distance - all the passion comes flooding back, and they run away together to Amanda’s flat in Paris. Are they older and wiser enough to navigate their way through the pitfalls that caused them to divorce the first time around? What happens when their new spouses, Sibyl and Victor, catch up with them?
It’s a comedy, it’s a romance, it’s just a little bit queer, and it’s surprisingly kinky for a play that is nearly 100 years old.
AUDITIONS:
Auditions will be on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 November, with callbacks the evening of Monday 4 November at Toi Poneke Arts Centre, 61/69 Abel Smith Street, Te Aro, Wellington.
To book an audition, please fill out the form below by Thursday 1 November - we'll be in touch to confirm your audition date and time. If you have any questions, please get in touch at [email protected].
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVHNvodykzdJvytH4ATHX8BA4W_Texqo1DIAFSmOeEzyd8cw/viewform
REHEARSALS + SHOW DATES:
Rehearsals are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Sunday afternoons at Toi Poneke starting November 2023. There will be a break over the Holiday/New Year period. The season will run from February 5th-15th at The Gryphon.
CHARACTERS:
AMANDA, female, 30s-40s
An intelligent, independently wealthy woman who enjoys a good party. She isn’t shy in expressing her opinions and is very open about what she wants. While she is a touch unconventional, she also knows how to play the high society game. She was previously married to Elyot, but has recently married Victor.
ELYOT, male, 30s-40s
A charming playboy, Elyot is very witty and he knows it. He doesn’t take much of anything seriously, and is very playful. At heart, he is a hopeless romantic, though he would die before admitting it. He was previously married to Amanda, but has recently married Sibyl.
SIBYL, female, 20s
Young and sweet, Sibyl is very pretty and feminine. She plays dumber than she is, and is adept at manipulating the men she meets. She’s just married Elyot and very much wants to prove that she will be a better wife than his first, though she is very curious about her perceived competition.
VICTOR, male, 30s-40s
A traditional man, he has relatively strict ideas and expectations about what makes a man a man and a woman a woman. He loves his new wife Amanda, and sees himself as the knight in shining armour, saving her from the ruins of her first marriage. However, he is increasingly concerned that his new bride doesn’t see it that way, and she might not be quite the trophy wife he was hoping for.
A very small role is LOUISE, to be played as female, any age. She is the maid at Amanda's flat in Paris. The person playing this role will also be Assistant Stage Manager. We won't be auditioning specifically for this role but let us know if you speak French and would like to be involved!
Audition details
Auditions will take place at Toi Poneke, 61/69 Abel Smith Street. They will be in 45-minute slots and in small groups.
Please let us know if you need any assistance or accessibility accommodations.
Where is it happening?
Toi Poneke Arts Centre, Wellington, New Zealand
