Below you'll find audition and production details for Agatha Christie's The Hollow, as well as backstage help required.

Audition dates

27th January, 7.30pm or
29th January, 7.30pm

Recalls
31st January, 7.30pm

Production details

Performance space

Main stage (150-seat theatre) at Putney Arts Theatre

Performance dates

21st to 25th April 2020, 7.45pm
and 25th April 2020, 3pm

Rehearsal period

Rehearsals will take place from 2 to 3 nights a week Monday to Friday, although you may not always be called. There will also be an 11am to 5pm rehearsal on most Sundays. Sometime there may be a need to rehearse on Saturdays and to rehearse on different days and times. For the fortnight before the performances you should be prepared to be called more regularly.

Please note: 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 members to take part in the show for £20 a year, and a £25 show fee will also be due. But even if you are not cast, we still encourage you to become a member of PTC.

Audition details

If you are planning on auditioning, please download and fill out the audition form:

• The Hollow – audition form (Word Doc, 100KB)

Please email your completed form to zoe.jeffADputneyarts@gmail.com to secure your place. There will be places for people who turn up on the evening, but having your form makes the process quicker.

Please leave your David Suchet and Joan Hickson impressions at home! Although we want to honour the great Queen of Crime, we also want to create something a little different. Think Wes Anderson meets film noir; Kneehigh Theatre meets Hitchcock.

Please read the play. Although the book will give you a feel of the play, it is quite different. The first round of auditions will involve some drama games and some scene work. The recalls will involve more of the same, as well as some detailed character work. Please arrive on time so we can start promptly.

Synopsis

You are invited to join us for a weekend away at The Hollow, the home of Lord and Lady Angkatell. Noted guests include a prominent Harley Street doctor and his wife, a prominent sculptress, a fashionable sales assistant and a country landowner. When the world’s most famous film star makes an uninvited entrance, the weekend becomes more bloody than expected.

Originally a Poriot story, Agatha Christie adapted her novel for the stage, and this proved such a success that she went on to write The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the world. Putney Theatre Company's modern-day version of this classic from the Queen of Crime promises to intrigue and thrill in equal measure, because, after all, murder is timeless.

Characters

Lady Angkatell
Female, 40s - 60s
The hostess. She is unique, charming if a little harsh and cruel. Talks in a stream of consciousness so it can be hard to follow her.

Henrietta Angkatell
Female, 20s - 40s
A sculptress. She is talented, clever and observant, everyone likes her. She probably knows the most about people out of the whole group.

Midge Harvey
Female, 20s - 30s
Retail assistant. Sarcastic, likeable but sometimes grumpy. Feels the difference in her class quite strongly.

Gerda Christow
Female, 20s - 40s
Housewife. Quiet, timid and loyal. Doesn’t want to be at The Hollow at all this weekend but will do anything for her husband.

Inspector Coquelhoun
Male/female, 30s - 50s
Police. Clever, calm & honest. Arrives at The Hollow once the murder has been committed, good at their job and can’t be intimidated by this powerful family.

Detective Sergeant Penny
Male/female, 20s
Police. Eager, bright and dutiful. A young member of the force, and keen to learn from their superior.

Gudegon
Male/female, any age
Housekeeper/Butler. Efficient and observant. In charge of everything.

Sir Henry Angkatell
Male, 40s - 60s
The host. Content, affluent and convivial. Is a brilliant team with his unique wife as he sort of balances her out. Always wants to help his friends and family.

Edward Angkatell
Male, 20s - 30s
Landowner. Loyal, homebody and kind. He can be quite oblivious to what is happening in front of his eyes but he means well.

John Christow M.D.
Male, 30s - 40s
Doctor. Arrogant, hardworking and charismatic. A good doctor but not necessarily the best person, he underestimates the people around him.

Vernon Craye
M, 30s - 40s
Film Star. Handsome, selfish and manipulative. Comes to The Hollow with ulterior motives and is determined to get his own way.

Backstage

Opportunities available include:

• Sound Designer
• Stage Manager
• Operators

Please get in touch with  with zoe.jeffadputneyarts@gmail.com if you are interested in getting involved.