Audition Notice
BrontË, by Polly Teale
Directed by Nettie Sheridan
Sunday 19th February, 5pm
For more information, audition pieces and to book an audition slot, please contact Nettie on nettesheridan@googlemail.com.
Production Dates
23rd - 27th May 2023
Rehearsals
Commence 26th March - Sundays 2pm, Mondays and Wednesdays 7.30pm, Tuesdays added later in process
About the Play
The text includes themes of sexual aggression, violence, mental illness, alcohol and drug abuse.
Its 1845, Branwell returns home to the Parsonage in Haworth in disgrace, plagued by his addictions. As he descends into alcoholism and insanity, bringing chaos to the household, his sisters write…
Polly Teale's extraordinary play evokes the real and imagined worlds of the Brontës as their fictional characters come to haunt their creators. The play follows their short lives from childhood to death focussing on the creation and success of 3 of their most exciting novels; Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Nettie is looking for actors (2m 4f) who enjoy the challenge of taking on multi-roles (fiction and non-fiction characters), collaborators who are willing to ‘try stuff out’ in order to physically and emotionally lay bare the lives of this fascinating family.
The age range for these roles is wide and not set in stone, Nettie is particularly looking for a ‘believable’ family unit – so these ages are flexible, but bearing in mind that none of the siblings survived beyond their 30’s..
There will be live music in the performance as well as poetry recital written by Emily Brontë
BLT actively encourages auditionees from ethnic minority communities and any of the below parts could be played by any race.
You do not have to be a member of the company to audition, but if you are cast you must join.
Characters
Patrick Brontë - 1777-1861. Devoted Father to Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell. Widower. Parish Priest of Irish descent. Mild Irish accent for this character. Also Plays: Edward Rochester – Fiction (Jane Eyre), Mr Heger (Non Fiction -Tutor to Charlotte), Arthur Bell Nicholls – (Non Fiction) Curate and Eventual husband to Charlotte. Playing age c45-60.
Branwell Brontë - 1817-1848. Brother to Charlotte, Emily and Anne. Second oldest and only son of the then surviving children. Plagued by alcoholism, struggling painter and writer. Suffers bouts of addiction to alcohol and opiates. Often described as the black sheep of the Brontë family. Argumentative, aggressive, emotional A slight Yorkshire accent. Also Plays: Heathcliff – Fiction (Wuthering Heights), Arthur Huntington – Fiction (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall). Both Heathcliff and Huntington are literary characters who lived emotionally unstable lives …..Could Branwell be the influence for these two characters? Playing age c25-35.
Charlotte Brontë - 1816-1855. The eldest of the siblings who survived into adulthood. Poet and Novelist. Plain in appearance. Strong Minded, clever, ambitious. A true leader of the Brontë children. Also Plays: Jane Eyre – Fiction (Jane Eyre) – a plain and simple literary character. Playing age c25-40.
Emily Brontë - 1818-1848. The second youngest of the siblings. Poet and Novelist. Feisty and forthright, wild, loving of nature, animals and homely – cooks, cleans and cares. Closest to Branwell. Also Plays: Nelly Dean – Fiction - Servant to the Earnshaw and Linton families in Wuthering Heights. Playing age c25-35.
Anne Brontë - 1820-1849. The youngest of the siblings. Poet and Novelist. Practical, kind, shy and reserved. The most successful of the sisters in work – employed for the longest as a Governess. Also Plays: Helen Graham – Fiction – The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (wife of Hungtingdon). Note: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is considered the first ever fully formed feminist novel. Playing age c25-35.
Bertha Rochester (Jane Eyre) and Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights) - One actress to take on both of these complex literary characters. Bertha – The violently insane wife of Edward Rochester locked up in a third floor attic type room at Thornfield Hall. Catherine – once a free spirit playing on the moors, becomes self-centred and self-absorbed – in love with Heathcliff? Or Edgar? Or Both? …. Playing age c25-35.