Audition Date: Thursday 16 November, 7:30pm
Martin McDonagh is now best known for films like In Bruges and the recent Banshees of Inisherin but, despite professing to hate theatre, he is also widely regarded as one of the greatest dramatists of his generation.
Hangmen was written in 2015 and it represents his most sophisticated play to date. It is set in a very particular time, the swinging sixties and is based on two real life hangmen. If you get too entranced by the crackling repartee, it is easy to fall into his meticulously constructed theatrical traps as the coils of this dark comedy thriller grow ever tighter.
There is a respectful nod here to Ealing comedy, Harold Pinter, and a cheeky wink at Tarantino. Every line has the potential to be laugh-out-loud funny, but the subject matter is dark and the characters are often cruel, their casual racism and sexism reflecting the values of those supposedly enlightened times. This play is less shocking that his earlier work, but audience members may find themselves in that exquisite quandary; “Am I allowed to laugh out loud and if I do, what does that say about me?”
The last word in Gallows humour, this production will have you in its stranglehold until the last gasp.
Simon Hellyer can be contacted on 07471 034 300 for details and audition pieces.
Characters
Hennessy - Male, 20 – 30yrs - Highly distressed throughout – needs to convince as an innocent bystander caught up in a Kafkaesque travesty of justice.
Harry Wade - Male, 40 – 60yrs - Proud “Servant of the crown” who has lost his pedestal - Vainglorious, overbearing, bigoted, jobsworth! (Needs to be physically fit).
Alice Wade - Female, 40 – 60yrs - Long suffering wife of Harry, she is sensible, and keeps the pub going. Hard exterior but melts easily, she was glamorous and still tries to keep up appearances despite her fading looks and fondness for gin.
Shirley Wade - Female, 15yrs - Frumpy, unloved, shy, naive teenager who is prone to ‘moping.’ She feels trapped and longs to escape from Oldham and marry Elvis.
Syd Arnfield - Male, 40-60yrs - Hapless, ineffectual, anxious, ex assistant hangman. He and Harry are a classic one up, one down double act.
Bill - Male, 30 – 60yrs - A pub regular, a flakey, emotional alcoholic with reactionary views and a gambling problem but nonetheless endearing.
Charlie - Male or Female, 30-60yrs - Pub regular, harmless, gossipy hanger-on who would pay to watch a car crash. He and Arthur are also something of a double act.
Arthur - Male or Female, 70-80yrs - Pub regular keen to be part of the action but hard of hearing and slow on the uptake.
Inspector Fry - Male, 40-60yrs - Pub regular, hard drinking, somewhat embittered detective who is envious of Wade’s notoriety. He is kind and has some integrity despite his naturally suspicious nature.
Clegg - Male or Female, 20-30yrs - Ambitious rooky journalist keen to get onto a national newspaper. He is embarrassed by the older men, but he is tenacious and cleverly manipulates Harry into giving him a scoop.
Peter Mooney - Slim male, 20-30yrs - London accent. Well-groomed and fashionably dressed, he is an acute observer, an outsider, a ‘piece of work’ who ‘may or may not be an animal.’ He wants to appear menacing, ‘but not creepy’.
Albert Pierrepoint - Large Male, 50-70yrs - Grandiose, grandiloquent with posh Northern accent. He is normally quite jolly but in this instance, he is absolutely livid!
