Mr Foote's Other Leg
Written by Ian Kelly
Directed by Amy Whiterod

Auditions: Saturday 12 August 2017, 10am to 5pm
Callbacks: Monday 14 August 2017, evening

Performance Dates: 1-11 November 2017
Rehearsal Period: late August to October 2017

Comedy, Tragedy, Sex, and Violence in Georgian London’s theatre world! Come and join us!

“Utterly engaging and marvellously entertaining” – The Telegraph. First performed in London in 2015 - now having its New Zealand premiere in Wellington, November 2017.

Based on a true story, the play follows the career of the hugely successful actor, satirist and comedian Samuel Foote, who lost a leg in an accident but overcame this and returned to the stage to titillate and shock the debauched audiences of George III’s London. But eventually he takes the joke too far, and the knives come out for him, in a fickle and powerful society that is determined to cut him down to size. There are plenty of filthy and funny moments in this play, as well as the touching, and sometimes tragic, story of how we test our friendships, and ourselves, to destruction.

To book an audition time please email auditions@stagecraft.co.nz.

Characters

(Note – accents are just for guidance, these can be worked on in rehearsal if you’re not comfortable trying in auditions, but any attempt is appreciated!)

• Samuel Foote: Male 30s-50s. Comedian, actor, sexually ambiguous, and can play an amputee. Needs a strong comic actor, with some skill in accents/voices and exceptional physicality. A demanding lead role.
• Peg Woffington: Female 30s-40s. Comedian, actor, society queen, and seductress. Needs good comic timing and an occasional Irish accent.
• David Garrick: Male 30s-40s. Famous Shakespearian actor, tragedian, and businessman.  Comfortable with Shakespeare verse, can manage a brief Brummie accent.
• Mrs Garner: Female 30s-50s. Stage Manager, worrier, and The Boss. Good comic timing and an east London accent preferred.
• Frank Barber: Male 20s-40s. Ex-slave, footman, well-educated, from Jamaica. Needs to be a Black actor, no specific accent, but vaguely English-sounding is preferred.
• John Hunter: Male 30s-40s. Surgeon, theatre-fan, somewhat imposing. Able to present medical knowledge convincingly, with a hint of a Scottish accent.
• Prince George (later King George III): Male 20s-40s. Royalty, theatre-fan to the point of being a bit star-struck. Posh English accent and lots of jolly good energy, what, what!
• Benjamin Franklin: Male 30s-40s. American Ambassador, scientist, theatre-fan. Any physical similarity to Benjamin Franklin is helpful but not vital, accent will be slightly American.
• Charles Macklin: Male 30s-50s. Famous Shakespearian actor. Comfortable with Shakespeare and ideally has a beautiful dramatic accent. Role may be doubled with Stagehand.
• Miss Chudleigh: Female 30s-40s. Notorious society lady, vicious, striking. Non-speaking role but has significant cameos, so needs strong facial expressions. Role may be doubled with Stagehand.
• Mr Hallam: Male 20s-40s. Actor, accident waiting to happen. Non-speaking role but needs good physicality for brief cameo. Role may be doubled with Stagehand.
  
• The Stagehands: Males and Females – any ages. Looking for versatile actors with great mime skills, who are able to play several non-speaking roles but who can also improvise and manage audience interaction. Some roles may be doubled with Macklin, Chudleigh and Hallam.