Audition Notice – Bexhill Amateur Theatrical Society

HAMLET

Prince of Denmark

By William Shakespeare

Key dates:

Audition: Thurs 7 April, 7.30pm at The Granary Barn, Broad Oak Park 

Rehearsals: Mon, Wed, Fri from 3 May (or best fit with everyone)

Get-in and dress rehearsal: Sunday 24 July – all rehearsals start 7.30pm

Performances: Mon-Sat 25 - 31 July at Manor Gardens, Bexhill.

THE PLAY

I won’t try to summarise the plot of this most famous of Shakespeare’s plays. I’d just say that, as I see it, it’s a set of tragedies about facing the consequences of others’ actions, principally the heinous murder which sets up the plot. The burden of redressing this evil falls to a sensitive young man who is not by nature equipped for revenge. It is the tragedy of indecision, and also a pretence which leads to misunderstanding and drastic mistakes. And it is the tragedy of all the others caught up in the parallel consequences. I think of BATS’ artistic successes recently, and I believe we can move further forward and meet this challenge and I am grateful the committee supports this proposal. I think none of Shakespeare’s plays should be off-limits, not where there is so much commitment and energy within the whole group. My question is now, is it “to be or not to be?” and I hope the answer will be a resounding – “TO BE...”

THE CHARACTERS

Claudius : King of Denmark. A “Smiling, damned villain”, subtle, ambitious and ruthless, who has murdered his brother, the former King, and married his brother’s wife.

Gertrude : Queen of Denmark . Loves her son Hamlet, but was vulnerable to Claudius’ seduction, and she pays an awful price for her own bad judgment in a difficult time.

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark. Struggling with grief for his father, angry with his mother, and prone to self-loathing, he learns from his father’s ghost that it was murder. Partially unhinged by this knowledge, he pays the price for thinking too much upon events.

Ophelia : A genuine and sensitive young woman, who faces the dilemma of either obeying her father, or following her heart without hope of requited love for Hamlet. Events break her heart and mind.

Polonius : An older, pedantic place-man to Claudius, a foolish ‘amateur psychologist’ who in other circumstances would be harmless, but he  meddles once too often and insensitively with his daughter Ophelia’s feelings. He pays the price by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.                             

Horatio: A trusted friend of Hamlet, sharing his philosophical outlook, but whose common-sense grip on reality gives Hamlet an anchor in his time of trouble, and he is loyal to the end.

Laertes: Ophelia’s brother, an active and purposeful young man of the period, who in other circumstances would have been an all-round good guy. The deaths of his father and sister prompt the desire for redress, which is suborned into revenge and foul play under Claudius’ tutelage. He pays the price for that rash alliance.

For the following parts you are invited to audition on the basis you will be willing to double with one or more of the other roles listed below, knowing that you will be kept busy with substantial speaking and/or non-speaking roles. Allocation of parts may have to evolve, according to numbers, suitability, willingness to be flexible and the versatility of different actors.

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern: ‘Friends’ of Hamlet who allow themselves to be recruited by Claudius to spy on Hamlet – and pay the price.

Ghost of Hamlet’s father : A commanding figure, voice and presence

Doctor of Divinity: Priest officiating at Ophelia’s funeral

Marcellus, Barnardo, Francisco: Guards who open the play and set the tense atmosphere on the haunted battlements

Reynaldo: Polonius’ servant, who could be a “Blackadder” comic role

Fortinbras: A focused, ambitious and strong-minded young man who takes calm control at the end.

Osric: A vain fop, symbolic of the corruption which has crept into the rotten state of Denmark

Players: A touring band of actors employed by Hamlet to trap the King into revealing his crime by re-enacting the murder.

Clowns: Gravediggers with a talent for black humour and providing Hamlet’s last laugh at life, with poor Yorick’s skull.

Lords, Ladies, Councillors, Soldiers, Sailors, Danes, Attendants, Messengers , Ambassadors, Courtiers : Will be busy throughout.

The play will be in costume of Shakespeare’s period. The script requires very substantial cuts which are in progress towards an adapted script which will be ready for the audition. So I cannot loan you a script in advance. If you want to find out any more, or if you can offer some help back-stage with the production team, please ring me.            

Lawry Rhodes, Director

01323 460091