Bleak Expectations

Bleak Expectations is a Dickens spoof described as “the story Charles Dickens might have written after drinking too much gin”. It started life as a BBC Radio 4 series but has now been re-written as a stage play. However, we plan to return it to its original roots and stage it, with some liberties, as it might have been recorded in the radio studio.

Many of the characters double up and we are looking for eleven actors – four female and seven male. Playing age is of no relevance, as the actors “cannot be seen” over the radio airwaves.

List of characters:

• Sir Philip Bin – narrator
• Pip Bin – Sir Philip,s younger self
• Pippa Bin – Pip’s sister
• Gently Benevolent – Pip’s life-long adversary

All the above are discrete characters; the following double/triple/quadruple up!

• The four Hardthrasher siblings (M) – nasty
• Thomas Bin, Broadly Fecund and Bakewell Havertwitch (M) – pleasant
• Poppy Bin and Ripely Fecund (F) – needy/sexy
• Skinflint Parsimonious and Harry Biscuit (M) – jolly nice
• Agnes Bin and Flora Dies-Early (F) – hard done by
• plus two others – one male, one female – for various others plus effects.

Books can be found outside the office and audition dates are Tuesday 14^th and Thursday 16^th November.

Production dates are week commencing Monday 4^th March 2024.

Look forward to seeing you then.

Brian Seal,

Director.

Audition Dates

Rehearsals

Tuesdays & Thursday evenings