Our play will be Agatha Crusty and The Village Hall Murders by Derek Webb; the play will be directed by Christopher Slater. Auditions will take place at 8pm on Wednesday, 12th, Monday, 17th and Wednesday, 19th January, 2022 at Chris’s home: 12 Crabtree Lane, Great Bookham, Surrey KT23 4PF, with rehearsals starting on Monday, 7th February, 2022 at Walton School Hall, Walton Street, Walton on the Hill, Surrey KT20 7RR.
Contact Chris on:
Telephone: 01372 454 963 or email christopherslater@
We ask everyone intending to audition on any of these dates to:
- Bring with them evidence of a negative lateral flow test result taken on the day of audition
- Wear a face mask indoors
- Maintain social distancing indoors
This is to protect everyone’s safety.
If for any reason you cannot comply with any of the three above, please contact Chris to let him know of your interest in taking part in the play, so that he may be able to arrange a time to discuss a role or roles with you.
*
Agatha Crusty (pronounced Croosty) is a crime novelist who’s also pretty adept at solving crimes. Lucky, because when her sister-in-law Alice invites her to spend a few days in the village of Chortelby, it’s not long before she gets caught up in a series of murders, which seem directed at members of the All Saints Village Hall committee.
From Toby the vicar and Eleanor, chair of the committee, to Harry Knott the hall caretaker and identical twins Olivia and Oliver Truscott-Pratt, there are plenty of suspects. And with an investigating officer as incompetent as DI Twigg, there are plenty of laughs amid the mayhem even while the body count racks up. Packed full of wit and very funny scenes, this is also a genuine murder mystery, with an ingenious plot which will certainly tax the little grey cells of the audience right up to the end.
*
Characters:
Harry, the hall caretaker – cynical, worldly-wise, down-to-earth (doubling with Lockett?)
Agatha, a crime novelist – unassuming but very on the ball
Alice, Agatha’s sister-in-law – pleasant, unpretentious
Olivia – upper-crust landed gentry with less land than she’d like (doubling with Oliver?)
Eleanor, chair of the hall committee – mother-superior style, but with a soft centre for some
Twigg – a detective inspector of extraordinary incompetence
Maisie, a cleaner – pleasant but not afraid to call a spade a spade
Toby, the vicar – generally genial and a little naïve, but can be forceful
PC Lockett, the village bobby – cousin to Harry (doubling with Harry?)
Isabella, the pub landlady – mumsy, with pretensions
Oliver – Olivia’s identical twin brother, but with shorter hair (doubling with Olivia?)
Mandy, a model – a streetwise girl
Rehearsals will start on Monday, 7th February, 2022 at 8pm at Walton School Hall and every Monday and Wednesday thereafter until the production transfers to The Lord Riddell Memorial Hall in Deans Lane, Walton on the Hill, Surrey KT20 7UA for performance week from Sunday, 24th April. There may be an extra Sunday rehearsal at the Riddell, tbc.
Performance dates there are 28th, 29th and 30th April, 2022
For any further information please contact the director, Chris Slater, on 01372 454 963 or christopherslater@ntlworld.com
