BATS Summer Show this year will be “Murdered to Death”, by Peter Gordon. Auditions for the roles are being held on the 16th February at 8:00pm at the Trinity Methodist Hall on Shortmead Street. Anyone wishing to audition will be welcome and parts will be read on the day.
Audition pieces will be provided on the day to anyone who wants one. However I’ve provided below a synopsis of the play and characters. This will let you get an idea as to what role you would like to look at, and how to perform your audition piece for the role you want:
Synopsis
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This hilarious comedy is from the writer of Out of Focus and co-writer of Murder in Company and it proves to be a corker. Inspector Pratt (in both name and nature) is called to a country home to deal with the cold-blooded murder of the lady of the house…eventually he finds the front door! Yes, very soon we find he’ll struggle to fight his way out of a paper bag let alone solve this crime.
He isn’t alone of course; a trusty Constable at his side, struggling to make sense of it all…and stay alive! The suspects? Well, there’s plenty and all in true whodunit style! There’s a society girl, a retired colonel, a french art dealer and a drunken butler to name but a few. All have skeletons in their closets and none are what they seem. Doors crash; accusations, accents, and terrible puns fly and hilarity results as the Inspector desperately struggles to hold on to the case…not to mention his sanity!
Mildred
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Owner of the house, no family, bequeathing most of her wealth to Dorothy her companion, housekeeper and niece. Had an affair with Charles when younger but has not stopped wanting it to rekindle. Threatens Charles with revealing all to Margret his wife. Buys paintings from Pierre which, when valued, are genuine, but are substituted by fakes before coughing up huge sums of money for them.
She is the murder victim in Act 1 Scene 1.
Dorothy
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Long suffering companion to Mildred. Knows that she is to inherit all from Mildred. Also uncovers Pierre as a fraud and sets out to blackmail him.
Charles (Craddock)
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Charles Craddock retired Colonel. Brags about his heroic exploits, his time in India but is, in fact, a deadly coward and spent his time on home shores in an office. Likes the ladies, had an affair with Mildred and is paranoid about her telling Margaret his long suffering younger wife. Brings a revolver with him to the house and it is the murder weapon.
He is also the sole heir to Midred’s fortune after Dorothy.
Margaret (Craddock)
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Long suffering wife of Charles, bored with his stories and his general behaviour but bites her lip and says very little of consequence.
Bunting
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The Butler, old, moves very slowly and silently, only does enough work to not get him fired. Drunkard and supplies a lot of the humour with his dry wit and doing EXACTLY what he is told word for word. This adherence to the words provides many humorous events.
Pierre (Marceau)
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Art dealer and has French accent throughout most of the play, but lapses into English when alone with his accomplice in the art swindles he lives on. Is blackmailed by Dorothy within the play and panics before re-blackmailing Dorothy that she was the murderer even though he did not see her he will say he did.Â
Elizabeth (Hartley-Trumpington)
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High class influential hot totty in the play. Oxbridge English accent (RP)Â but really a cockney crook and accomplice to Pierre. Willing to murder anybody who gets in her way of money.
Joan (Maple)
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Local village busybody and a spoof take on Agatha Christies Miss Marple – disaster follows her around, especially murder. She is the one character who has to look like an old spinster who knits and interferes and generally is a nuisance to everyone.
Pratt (Inspector)
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This is the main humorous source of the play. He is to dress like Colombo, behave like Clouseau and almost never gets anything right. At one point he suspects the murdered Mildred as the murderer of Mildred. There are slapstick, misused phrases, inability to remember people’s names and so on…
Thomkins (Constable)
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The straight man to Pratt, a local bobby and not as sophisticated as Pratt. Manages to provide humour by bantering replies with Pratt.
He is also a victim of Pratt’s incompetence in that whilst re-enacting the Murder at the end of Act 1 he is shot by the bungling Pratt.
I hope this gives you all a good idea as to what the characters are like. Hopefully, we’ll see you all on Wednesday.
