‘What’s in a name?” A lot. The title, The Audtion, is awesome; it draws you into the story before you know anything about it; it evokes scenarios, situations which you want to learn about.
The story is about five women who audition to play a famous diva in her 70s in a new musical about her life. Their brief is to tell personal stories maybe connecting with the rollercoaster life and career of an ageing screen, stage and recording star.
All the cast come on stage and sit, and Charlie Hardwick, of Emmerdale fame, welcomes the audience and explains it is a rehearsed reading, during which she also reads out the stage directions. She plays Jennifer, a fading Broadway star living in England, working on a comeback. As the story unfolds, each woman relates intimate details, so they learn a lot about each other’s personal lives and experiences and a bond begins to form.
They all have come with two songs that tell something about their life. Sam (Catherine Dryden) begins with a lengthy monologue, which prompts Barry (Andrew Richardson) to say, “maybe we should get to the song.” The flow improves when Barry begins her accompaniment before she had finished speaking, taking you easily into her song… ”Maybe this time I’ll be lucky”. Kate (Rachel Unthank, making her theatre debut) comes next, followed by Gemma (Kay Milbourne), then Daisy (Eleanor Grainger), with Hardwick last.
They are performing to a camera linked to the producers in America, and the casting director has gone to the wrong town, so all instructions are relayed to Barry through headphones. There is a good selection of songs: classics from Hoagy Carmichael, Gershwin and more. There are some great voices among the cast, and, while a strong voice is important, delivering a song is just as relevant, if not more, which Hardwick shows. Grainger was the first actor to really pack her song with emotion, bringing it to life and drawing you in.
There is a good amount of humour, breaking up the more dramatic sections, double-entendres and innuendos. Thompson uses his expert knowledge of pantomime in a section of a monologue, bringing more humour. However, it is not always what you say but the way that you say it; Hardwick displays excellent comedy timing, extracting humour where on the page it would not be seen in the hands of a less experienced actor—mind, timing is not something you can really teach.
While a rehearsed reading, by its very nature quite static, all the cast entering at the same time and remaining seated for the entire production reminded one of a radio play. The black stands they had in front of them holding their scripts also separated them from the audience, like a barrier—maybe some lack of experience accounted for them not holding their script as often done. It seems incongruous that the majority of cast gained an audition for a 70s-plus part when most were not even in their 50s or 60s; it did not ring true.
This idea, plot, has the makings of a great play; five / six different characters telling their own distinctive stories can be enthralling on its own, but then add a great selections of Broadway numbers and it's hard to fail. Apart from Hardwick, one person who was on the ball constantly was Richardson, whose energetic, enthusiastic playing was a pleasure not only to listen to but watch, and he can act. At nearly two and a half hours with an interval, sometimes hard to keep concentration, particularly with a lack of pace, but the cast did seem more animated in the second half. When one actor takes the stage alone, they need to ‘fill’ it to hold attention. It would be longer when not static as time is added with movement and cast reactions, so the script needs cutting, but possible without losing the sense.
Writer Graeme Thompson, who has co-written the Customs House numerous pantomimes with Ray Spencer for years, is more than up to this task with his writing experience. He met the experienced director Max Roberts at Live Theatre when Roberts was Artistic Director there. This is another great example of how The Customs House continues to support and pioneer new work-in-progress and provide employment and experience for local performers—long may they survive. Any play that has five women in it, live music and great songs has my vote; I am sure it will grow and develop, so watch this space.