LOVE BEGINS AT 50
Directed by: Alison Gibson / Assistant Director: Sue Hasey
AUDITION DATE: 20th July 2021
Performance Dates: 17th September to 2nd October 2021
ALL AUDITIONS ARE IN AN OPEN FORMAT PLEASE ARRIVE AT 7:15PM FOR A 7:30 START
A farcical comedy in two acts.
Anita and Clive Debanks have been married for 28 years and have led an uneventful life. But all that is about to change. Although in a loveless marriage, Clive has never been unfaithful. However, as preparations for his fiftieth birthday are underway, Clive feels that life is passing him by and has a yearning for one last fling.
To this end, he chooses three prospective partners from the ‘lonely Hearts’ column in the local paper. By a strange twist of fate, the same paper is offering a Caribbean cruise, as the first prize, in a competition to find the perfect married couple. Anita enters the competition but keeps it a secret form Clive.
A photographer arrives to take pictures of the happy couple the night Anita is away, and Clive is busy at home, entertaining one of his new dates. From that point onwards, things get a little complicated, to say the least.
An amateur production by arrangement with Pinsley Plays written by Raymond Hopkins.
CAST OF CHARACTERS (stage ages are open to interpretation)
Anita Debanks - Female 45-55: Anita is about fifty-two. Well educated. Feels that she has married beneath herself, and consequently, treats her husband with contempt. She has immaculate dress sense.
Clive Debanks - Male 45-55: Clive is Anita's husband. He is about forty-nine. A romantic, who has been starved of love and affection by his wife. Happy to let the world go by. Very easy going but does not have much dress sense.
Jack Reynolds - Male 45-55: Jack is a lifelong friend of Clive. He is about forty-eight. He is a confirmed bachelor, who likes female company, without any commitment. Down to earth and lives for today. Jack is full of charisma.
Claire Murphy - Female 45-55: Claire is a lifelong friend of Anita. She is about fifty-three, slightly overweight with a poor dress sense. She has a habit of misinterpreting a situation and will often say the wrong thing.
Tracy Barton - Female 20-25: Tracy is about twenty-three and has a lot of her mother's traits, although she does have a compassionate side to her nature. Tracy likes keeping up with her modern fashion and makes the best of her appearances. Tracy lives on an emotional roller coaster.
Annabel Wickson - Female 25-35: Annabel is slim and very attractive. She has a good dress sense but not very intelligent. She can be very outspoken and is searching for some fun in her life.
Mavis Leggett - Female 50-65: Mavis is about sixty-five. She gives the appearance of being slightly doddery but is always able to hold her own. Mavis is eccentric and dresses in quirky clothes.
Emily Roberts - Female 35-45: Emily is very attractive with a good figure. She comes from a poor background and has never married. She is very kind and considerate, but painfully shy.
Henry Clarke - Male 30-40: A cockney with a lot of chatter. Happy-go-lucky attitude to life. A flash dresser.
THE SUNSHINE BOYS
Directed by: Sue Hasey / Assistant Director: Robert Walker
AUDITION DATE: TBA
PROPOSED Performance Dates: 12th to 27th November 2021
ALL AUDITIONS ARE IN AN OPEN FORMAT PLEASE ARRIVE AT 7:15PM FOR A 7:30 START
Al Lewis and Willy Clark were once a popular vaudeville comedy team called Lewis and Clark, also known as The Sunshine Boys.
After forty-three years as a team, they parted company over eleven years prior on not too friendly terms, as Willy wanted to continue his career, whereas Al wanted to retire. They have not spoken since.
Willy's nephew, Ben, a talent agent, has been trying to find acting jobs for his uncle since with little success, as Willy's age and declining ability is showing. But a lucrative opportunity comes up when one of the major networks is producing and airing a special on the history of comedy, and want The Sunshine Boys to appear.
Ben has to try and convince the comedy team to reunite for just this one gig. Ben has to try and manage the individual quirks and personalities of each of The Sunshine Boys while putting on a good face to the network that there is harmony within The Sunshine Boys comedy team. Ben also has to manage the lives of two men in the twilight of their lives.
CAST OF CHARACTERS (stage ages are open to interpretation)
Willie Clark - Male: 65-85
Willie is one-half of the great vaudeville comedy team of Lewis & Clark; Willie is a bitter, sarcastic old man, but he hasn’t lost his comedic knack; he’s always dead-on with punch lines and timing; he appears self absorbed and wrapped up in his own life, and doesn’t show any signs of sentimentality or empathy, yet there’s something wholly endearing about him.
Al Lewis - Male: 65-85
Al is the other half of Lewis & Clark; Al is the more timid straight man to Willie’s explosive temperament, yet he can dish it out on an equal level; he accepts the limitations of old age and has learned to enjoy his golden years; however, it’s obvious he misses his old partner and the good times they shared.
Ben Silverman - Male 21-30: Willie’s nephew and agent; Ben cares very much for his uncle and really looks up to him; he tries to find work for Willie, but Willie’s age and personality make this a very difficult task; a practical, hardworking family man, Ben really didn’t inherit any of his uncle’s sense of comedy.
Eddie - Male: 21-30
a young production assistant; everything rolls down onto Eddie’s shoulders, and he’s carrying a great weight trying to get this production ready for broadcast.
Patient - Male: 30-50
An actor playing the role of a patient for the TV broadcast; overacting a bit, he often comes across as a hypochondriac.
Burlesque Nurse - Female: 20-45
Another character for the TV show; this character’s purpose is to be the object of lewd sexual jokes; she should be blonde and curvy.
Registered Nurse - Female: 35-55