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Yes, it's panto time again and next year it's the turn of Cinderella, featuring our winning combo - writer Ben Crocker and director Wendy Davies. If you loved Robin Hood, you'll love this!

Auditions will be on Wednesday 16th October at 7.30pm in the Village Hall and on Sunday 20th October at 2.00pm in the EYSC.

Here's a list of the characters with notes by Ben Crocker the playwright. If you'd like a script to look at, please contact Wendy directly at wendydavies2012@gmail.com.

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FAIRY GODMOTHER

She can be any age, although obviously a more mature mother figure is particularly appropriate. She does not have to sing, but she should definitely have a good sense of humour. She is a bit bossy, with a certain matronly briskness about her!
 
DANDINI

This part can be played by a boy or a girl. He is an opportunist, mischievous, fun loving and wants to enjoy life. We should feel a strong bond between him and the Prince. Ideally, he should have a nice singing voice and as he regularly finds himself the on the wrong end of the Sisters’ amorous intentions, he needs to have a good sense of comedy.
 
PRINCE CHARMING

Again this part can be played by a boy or a girl and although he should look plausibly handsome and prince-like, charm and a sense of natural authority are just as important. The Prince is fond of Dandini and although he is more reserved than his cheeky valet, he has a genuine sense of humour. Most importantly, the Prince and Cinderella carry some of the key elements of the story and it is important that we a feel their love to be real and important to them. He should have a pleasant singing voice.
 
BUTTONS

The actor playing this part really needs to be able to engage with the audience. He should have charm, energy and attack. Whilst he needs to be good at comedy, he should also be able to portray his sincere love for Cinderella. It is the duality of the comedy and the pathos which make this role so special. He can be cast young – or a good deal older. A good singing voice is always a bonus, but it is not essential!
 
CINDERELLA

There needs to be a wholesomeness to Cinderella. A feeling of natural goodness which is leavened by a sense of humour. Ideally, she should be young and attractive as she and the Prince need to fall for one another at first sight. In the scenes with Buttons she has a sense of fun and she is also spirited enough to stand up to her step sisters. Like the Prince, she should have a pleasant singing voice.
 
LADY DEVILIA HARDUP

Glamorous, authoritive – and bad! A great role for a mature actress. She is involved in several group numbers, but has no solo responsibility, so singing ability is not crucial.
 
SNITCH AND SNATCH, the Broker's Men

Snitch is, of course, the leader of the pair – but no brighter than Snatch. They have a complete sense of their own rightness in everything that they do - and this is never dented by failure. If anything, they are even keener as Security Guards than they are as Broker’s Men!
 
THE UGLY SISTERS

We meet them first as a pair of expelled schoolgirls – but they do not need to be young! In fact, the whole idea is that they have been held down for years and the actors who play them are quite probably a pair of middle aged men, dressed in a ghastly travesty of school uniform! I have imagined an element of physical contrast between them, which can be emphasised further with costume. Beryl is the more dominant of the pair and so it would make sense to cast her as the spiky thin one, or the very little one and Cheryl the rounder, dare I say, plumper one. Whilst they were originally written to be played by two men, I don’t think this needs to be a hard and fast rule. Much more important is the fact that although they are obviously baddies, they also carry a lot of the comedy. It is therefore crucial to play them with a sense of fun – and lots of pace through the dialogue!
 
BARON HARDUP

An older man. Full of sudden enthusiasms which always come to nothing. He is too weak to control the sisters and totally in thrall to his wife, but he needs a certain vigour in the playing as he is involved in quite a lot of the comedy. He could, for instance, be dressed up in whacky gear along with the sisters at the start of the Ball.
 
DUMPLING

the pantomime horse. Shambolic and loveable. There is a childlike innocence to pantomime animals, even when they behave badly. I always think it is nice if a pantomime horse is able to dance a bit - it looks so silly.
 
MAJOR DOMO

Needs a good loud voice!

We will also need a chorus (ideally a mix of men and women) and 6 children (aged 7+).

We look forward to seeing you at the auditions. Any questions, please shout.

Simon