THE LOVELY BONES

Directed by Frances Bodiam 

Production dates:
Tuesday 23rd - 27th April 2024
Matinee, Saturday 27th April 
Main Stage, 7.45pm

Susie Salmon is 14 years old. She is also dead. She was brutally murdered by a neighbour. When she arrives in her Heaven she can have anything she desires except to be alive again. She is determined with or without the help of her Intake Counsellor Franny, to do anything she can to help her family through their grief and identify her killer. She watches helplessly as her family fall apart and her brother and sister grow up without her. Can she get revenge for her death from her place in heaven?

Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones has been a bestseller throughout the world and the 2009 film, directed by Peter Jackson starring Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz and Susan Sarandon won a number of international awards.

Bryony Lavery is a British playwright whose plays performed at the National Theatre include Frozen (2002), Treasure Island (2014) and at the Bridge Theatre, La Belle Sauvage (2019).

AUDITIONS

You can audition on Sunday 11th February at 7pm or Tuesday 13th February at 7pm. If successful, you will be asked to attend recalls on Friday 16th February at 7pm. 

Please register to audition by by emailing the director, Frances Bodiam at ptclovelybones@gmail.com 

AUDITION PREPARATION

You do not need to prepare anything but please ensure that you have read the play FULLY and that you have an understanding of the character/s you are auditioning for.  Please also make sure you arrive on time.

CASTING INFORMATION 

This production will be a challenging ensemble piece with movement and physical theatre. The actors will need to be skilled character players who are willing to be flexible and explore the script and storyline as part of a team. In the rehearsal period, we will begin without any scripts, working on character creation and definition, with focus on exploring and creating the dynamics of the play. In these workshops we'll be using some theatre practitioner techniques to achieve this.  

Characters: 7 Female, 7 Male
Playing ages included for audition purposes

Susie Salmon: (playing age) 14 years old

Mr Harvey: over 30s – Susie’s murderer

Franny: over 30s – Susie’s Intake Counsellor in Heaven

Abigail Salmon: 30s-40s – Susie’s mother 

Jack Salmon: 30s-40s – Susie’s father

Lindsey Salmon: (playing age) early teens Susie’s sister

Buckley Salmon: (playing age) Under 10 years old - Susie’s brother

Ray Singh: Susie’s boyfriend – teens – Indian

Ruana Singh : 30s-40s – Ray’s mother - Indian

Len Fennerman: 30s-50s – The detective investigating Susie’s murder

Cop: 20s-60s – policeman assisting with investigation of Susie’s murder

Grandma Lynn: 50s-60s – Susie’s grandmother

Ruth Connors: (playing age) teens – Susie’s classmate

Samuel Heckler: Teens/early 20s – Lindsey’s boyfriend

REHEARSAL PERIOD

Rehearsals will take place from mid-February at 7.30pm for 2-3 evenings on Monday to Thursday, as well as around 3 hours rehearsal on a Sunday. Sometimes there may be a need to rehearse on Saturdays and to rehearse on different days and times.  Most actors will only be called for 2 rehearsals a week until the final few weeks, when actors should be prepared to rehearse on up to 4 days a week.

PLEASE NOTE

We are committed to improving diversity in our casting, and unless stated for artistic reasons, we aim to actively adopt an inclusive casting policy.

This is an amateur production. You do not need to be a member of Putney Theatre Company to audition, but actors and crew will need to become a member of Putney Theatre Company to take part in the show for £30 a year. A  £30 show fee will also need to be paid by all actors in the production. We encourage you to become a member of PTC anyway, even if not cast. 

Our company is run by volunteers and we expect all actors cast in a play to volunteer for Front of House duties at least once a year. Our shows could not go up without our Front of House volunteers.