Audition Date: Saturday 23^rd November 11am-2pm.

Required: 2-minute monologue plus a cold reading from the play.

Book an audition time by emailing, donna@dandaf.com

Genre: Full length play; over 2 hours in length, a comedy thriller in three acts.

Setting: The action of all three acts occurs in the drawing-room of Copplestone Court, the Hailsham-Browns’ home in Kent.

Time Period: 1950s.

Synopsis: Clarissa, wife of a diplomat, is adept at spinning tales of adventure, but when a murder takes place in her drawing room, she finds live drama much harder to cope with. Desperate to dispose of the body before her husband arrives with an important politician, she enlists the help of her guests. Hilarity ensues when they are interrupted by the arrival of wry detective, Inspector Lord.

Christie delivers a unique blend of suspense and humour by employing a conscious parody of the detective thriller genre. Both tension and laughter occur in equal parts in an intricate plot of murder, police, drug addicts, invisible ink, hidden doorways, and secret drawers.[i]

Co-Directors:  Donna Foote, June Richardson and Mary Balme.

Rehearsals commence week beginning 2^nd February 2020.

Season: 13^th – 28^th March 2020.

Roles:

CLARISSA HAILSHAM-BROWN:             Female: 20–40’s (Lead)

The second wife of Henry Hailsham-Brown; charming and inventive, her imagination tends to work overtime, with some unexpected consequences.

SIR ROWLAND DELAHAYE:        Male: 50-70’s

A distinguished gentleman with very definite charm. Clarissa’s guardian, friend, and adviser; he likes to think that he can guide her, however, he would never admit that she has him wrapped around her little finger.

HUGO BIRCH:         Male: 40-70’s

The local Justice of the Peace. A rather irascible type who shouldn’t be involved in business like a murder.

JEREMY WARRENDER:       Male: 25-40’s

An elegant young man and guest at the Hailsham-Brown’s house, the private secretary for a man much wealthier than he

PIPPA HAILSHAM-BROWN:  Female: Needs to be able to convince audience she is in her teens.

Clarissa’s young stepdaughter. She exhibits the strong emotional swings of a teenager, made worse by a previous family problem; will need to look much younger than Clarissa but strong enough for Clarissa (and the audience) to believe that she could have murdered Oliver.

MILDRED PEAKE   Female: 30-60’s

A hearty country woman who lives in a cottage on the estate and acts as gardener.

ELGIN:           Male or Female 40-70’s

The butler/housekeeper. Nothing escapes his/her attention.

OLIVER COSTELLO:          Male: 40-50’s

He is suspected of shady dealings. None of the other characters like him and neither should the audience – even though he is killed in the first act, his body gets to “lay around” in the second act.

HENRY HAILSHAM-BROWN:      Male: 40-60’s

Clarissa’s husband. A good-looking man with a rather expressionless face who works in the foreign office, a strong, solid type.

INSPECTOR LORD:           Male: 40- 60’sThe wheels are always turning in his brain. Although he doesn’t let on, he doesn’t miss a thing.

CONSTABLE JONES:        Male: 20 – 30’s

He and the Inspector have been working together long enough that they understand each other well.