Travesties Auditions

Auditions

Travesties
By Tom Stoppard

Roleystone Theatre
July/August season

Sunday 29 April
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

During the First World War, Zurich was a haven for political and artistic refugees such as James Joyce, Tristan Tzara, founder of the Dadaist movement, and Lenin. While in Zurich, Joyce produced a production of Oscar WildeÂ’s The Importance of Being Earnest featuring a minor English Embassy official, Henry Carr, as Algernon Moncrieff.
Travesties is presented from the memory of an old and now feeble Carr, confusing the people he could have met at the time and casting them in a parallel version of Earnest.
It is an intelligent comedy, dealing with, amongst other things, the role of Art vs the role of Politics in Society. It is in a similar vein to some of Stoppard's other plays Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Arcadia.

Cast:
3 Female
Gwendolen - Personal assistant to James Joyce (parallels Gwendolen from Earnest)
Cecily - Librarian at the Zurich Public Library (Cecily)
Nadya - LeninÂ’s wife (Miss Prism)

The parts of Gwendolen and Cecily are both “Bright Young Things”
Nadya may be any age, but should be older than Gwendolen and Cecily

5 Male
Henry Carr - Minor Embassy Official (Algernon)
Tristan Tzara - Founder of the Dadaist Movement (Jack)
James Joyce - Author of Ulysses (Lady Bracknell)
Lenin - Father of the Russian Revolution (Canon Chasuble)
Bennett - The Butler (The Butlers)

Carr and Tzara are both young and stupid
Lenin and Bennett may be any age, but should be older than Carr and Tzara
Joyce is a stereotypical stage Irishman

The parts of Lenin and his wife are actually dramatic rather than comic characters.
Cross-gender casting may be considered for some of these roles.

For enquiries please contact the director:
Paul Treasure
Home: 9228 2776
Work: 9311 2303
Email: paul.treasure@defence.gov.au