HEARTBREAK HOUSE by GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

Directed by John Barrett

AUDITIONS: Auditions will be held at Beatrice Herford’s Vokes Theatre, Route 20, Wayland, MA and are by appointment

Sunday, March 9 6:30-9:00
Monday, March 10 7:00-9:30

Other times available by arrangement

Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue – The monologue can be serious or comic, modern or classic, but ideally should demonstrate deftness with the intricacy of language present in a play by Shaw.

To schedule an appointment, please call 508-358-2011 and leave your name, phone, and preferred audition time. We will call you back.

REHEARSALS BEGIN: March 16

PERFORMANCES: May 1 through May 17 Thursday – Saturday Evenings
Matinees Saturday, May 10 & May 17

England, at the onset World War I – in a lovely country house, an intriguing assortment of beautiful, witty women flirt and dally with a bewildering – and bewildered – assortment of men, both gentlemen and ladies seemingly oblivious to “The Great War” raging just over the threshold. The elegance (and artificiality) of the Edwardian Age is breathing its last gasp, but here, in Heartbreak House, wit and whimsy still rule. George Bernard Shaw’s stunning masterwork brings to life a cornucopia of wondrous characters, some a little off-beat, some quite bizarre, but all delightful and all engaged in a grand unspoken conspiracy to shut out the rude realities of the larger world and live instead in a fanciful dreamworld of their own creation. It’s a world full of cleverness and charm, of artifice and masquerade, of bright humor and wicked satire – a dreamworld that, sadly, cannot prevail against the coming cataclysm but lives brilliantly on stage for one more night of enchantment and, ultimately, enlightenment.
CAST (The character descriptions are Mr. Shaw’s (with some minor additions)

THE GENTLEMEN

CAPTAIN SHOTOVER “An ancient, but still hardy man” gives the appearance of beginning to lose his grip, not from any real diminution of faculties, but rather from indifference to the judgment of others – his own man in all things

HECTOR HUSHABYE “Very handsome, rather dandified” – 40s – has the curious habit of performing all sorts of heroic acts (to which he is too modest to admit) and therefore inventing the most ridiculous imaginary exploits in their place

MAZZINI DUNN “A little elderly man with bulging credulous eyes” could play as young as 50s – diffident, as out of his depth with the wealthy as his daughter (Ellie) is not

BOSS MANGAN “Fifty five with a careworn, mistrustful expression” – as the name indicates, a captain of industry – prosaic, and as such, completely at a loss within the confines of this very fanciful house

RANDALL UTTERWORD “A gentleman whose first-rate tailoring and frictionless manners proclaim the well bred West Ender – somewhat younger than Ariadne (his brother’s wife) and hopelessly in love with her

BILLY DUNN “An old villainous-looking man” – in fact not villainous at all – an old sailor – half a pirate really – fun comic part

THE LADIES

HESIONE HUSHABYE “Magnificent hair and eyes, beautiful” – 40s -The Captain’s daughter and Hector’s wife – intelligent, romantic – a formidable woman in every sense

ARIADNE UTTERWORD “Very handsome, very well dressed” late 30s to 40s – the Captain’s other daughter – very vain and beautiful enough to pull it off – a relentless flirt and heartbreaker

ELLIE DUNN Ingénue “Slender, pretty, fair and intelligent” – way out of her social class with this crowd, but at no disadvantage in strength of character

NURSE GUINNESS Older, has been with the Captain many years, long enough to not put up with any nonsense – think an older Eve Arden and you’ll have her