The Royal and Derngate Young Company in Northampton is inviting writers to submit a ten-minute short play, inspired by the theatre’s forthcoming production of Gaslight, being staged in autumn 2015 with Tara Fitzgerald in the leading role.
In Patrick Hamilton’s psychological thriller, Bella Manningham becomes convinced that she is losing her mind as the living-room gaslight flickers and the floorboards creak around her. With her husband away on business, she loses all sense of reality.
The surprise arrival of a retired detective leads to a shocking discovery that will shake her respectable Victorian marriage to its core.
The playwriting competition, Royal—React—Respond, gives writers an opportunity to showcase their writing on the Royal stage. The selected pieces will be presented by Royal and Derngate’s Young Company: Respond after the matinée performances of Gaslight on 24 and 31 October.
Scripts must be submitted by Friday 14 August. The plays must be suitable to be performed by 14- to 21-year-olds and suitable for a large group of actors, i.e. a minimum of six characters or voices.
For more information or to submit a script, contact youth theatre director Christopher Elmer-Gorry on [email protected].
Gaslight runs at Royal and Derngate from Friday 16 October until Saturday 7 November.
Meanwhile, the theatre is looking for three people to play non-speaking parts in Gaslight: two men aged 20 to 40 with a strong build to play policemen and a woman over 60 to play a ghost.
Auditions will take place at the theatre on Wednesday 19 August between 4 and 8PM. To register and get a timed, 15-minute slot, download a registration form from the theatre’s web site or pick one up from the box office. The deadline for registration is Monday 10 August. For more information contact John Manning on 01604 655784 or e-mail [email protected].