Emmeline Winterbotham Design : Catherine Morgan Choreographer : Shobna Gulati Composer : Chris Davies Lighting Design : Nathan Gummow Assistant Director : Martin Mulgrew Producer: Lisa Rost-Welling Puppet Coordinator: Barbara Mathews Puppeteers: Catherine Thomas, Emma Reade-Davies Workshop Coordinator: Sheila Burbidge Dance Captain: Neha Jain Stage Managers : Dinah Irvine, Michael Bettell Publicity: Sue Brodie, Caroline Kelly, Deb Rothfield, Linda Shire More about the production

Performance Dates : Tuesday 24th April - Saturday 5th May At the Arcola Tent, Dalston with the possibility of a Stratford-upon-Avon performance in July 2012 Audition Dates & Times : Due to the challenges of casting such a large and diverse piece as Baba Shakespeare and the additional RSC requirement to form new partnerships, it has been decided to hold the auditions in three separate stages. Open Auditions You do not need to be a Tower Member Asian roles Auditions have been held : casting in progress. Auditions are for Tower Theatre Company Members only Non-Asian roles Auditions have been held : casting in progress. Open Auditions You do not need to be a Tower Member Dance roles Saturday, 4th February (venue & time TBC). Audition taking the form of a dance workshop with Choreographer, Shobna Gulati and will be open to dancers of all disciplines.

Please contact Lisa Rost-Welling or Emmeline Winterbotham if you are unable to make the audition date or have any questions about the show or the role/s you wish to read for.

Rehearsals will be from February to April; additional rehearsals may be required in late June/early July in the event of being selected for Stratford-upon-Avon.

The get-in will be on 22nd - 24th April when all cast and crew will be needed for technical and dress rehearsals.

The Play
Set in post-colonial India, this highly theatrical modern take on an award winning classic film interweaves the plays of Shakespeare with the world of Bollywood to create a moving and original love story. Featuring dance, puppetry, and an original musical score, Baba Shakespeare is the Tower Theatre's entry for the RSC Open Stages project which culminates in the World Shakespeare Festival at Stratford- upon-Avon in July 2012.

Baba Shakespeare is a new work based on the award winning 1965 Merchant Ivory film Shakespeare Wallah which starred Felicity Kendal and her family and echoed their own true-life experience as a troupe of travelling players in India in the early 1960s. Set at a time when India was just emerging from colonial rule and asserting itself as a modern country, the play explores the theme of cultural vs. emotional identity (epitomised in the love rivalry between Manjula, a rising star of the "new" world of film, and Lizzie, a young and impressionable British theatre actress of the "old school" as well as the various ways we use performance to conceal, reveal, and transcend ourselves.
The conflict is illuminated throughout by the wit and wisdom of Shakespeare as the troupe performs some of his great classic scenes.

RSC Open Stages
RSC Open Stages is a new project that aims, in the words of RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd, "to embrace, develop and celebrate amateur theatre, re-forging the bond with the world of professional theatre while opening up access to Shakespeare for performers and audiences alike." Featuring over 260 amateur companies across the UK, it culminates in a national celebration, when a selection of RSC Open Stages groups will be invited to perform their productions at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon, alongside the RSC's own festival productions and those from theatre companies around the world.
A number of Tower members have already attended workshops run by the RSC as part of the wider skills exchange programme.

Roles to be auditioned on December 3rd (Open Audition)
Actors of Indian or Asian heritage required to fill the following roles :
Sanju (24) : Ages up as 70-year-old Sanju. Rich playboy who becomes a film director. Fascinated by the Buckinghams and Shakespeare. Carries on an affair with Lizzie and Manjula simultaneously. The story is related through his eyes. Speaks some Urdu and Hindi.
Manjula (20s) : A rising Bollywood starlet and Lizzie Buckingham's chief rival. (Must be able to dance) Madhur Jaffrey won a best actress at the Berlin Film Festival with the role.
Sharma (20s) : Actor with the Buckingham troupe. Plays various Shakespearean roles including Romeo. In love with Lizzie. Speaks some Hindi.
Aslam (19) : The juvenile lead of the Buckingham troupe. String player/good singing voice.
Gupta (30s) : Actor with the Buckingham troupe. Plays various Shakespearean roles including Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Twelfth Night). Worried about his long-term prospects.
The Maharaja of Betawar (50s/early 60s) : A Shakespeare enthusiast and patron of the Buckinghams. Doubles as Deputy Head of a leading boy's private boarding school in North India. Pukka British accent of the old school. (Strong character roles.)
Monkey Wallah : Puppeteer Male. Speaks Hindi.
Film Director 1963 : Early Bollywood director frustrated in his attempts to manage Manjula and make his movie.
Film Choreographer 1963 : Male or Female. Frustrated in their efforts to coach Manjula. (Experience of Indian dance would assist.)
Mrs Puri (40s+) : Impatient boarding house guest.

Roles to be auditioned on January 14th (Tower Members only)
Non-Asian actors required to fill the following roles:
Anthony Buckingham (late 40s/50s) : Head of the Buckingham Players. Determined, unsentimental and disillusioned. Shakespearean roles include Antony, Sir Toby Belch and Othello.
Carla BucKingham (late 40s/50s) : His wife. Loyal and dedicated to her craft. Secretly longing to return to England. Shakespearean roles include Gertrude and Cleopatra.
Lizzie Buckingham (20) : Their daughter. A dedicated actress who has lived her entire life in India. In love with Sanju. As the stakes rise in both the privateand professional worlds, the pressure of cultural differences force her to make painful choices about identity and ultimate allegiance. The role that shot Felicity Kendal to stardom. Shakespearean roles include Ophelia and Juliet.
Bobby Sylvester (60s/early 70s) : A senior actor in the troupe. Seen it all and misses the old days badly.
Mrs Bowen (40s/50s) : Landlady of Gleneagles Boarding House Kalikhet. Practical, outspoken. Disenchanted with the way the world is changing.

Dance Roles to be auditioned on 4th February (Open Audition)

Sanju and Lizzie alter egos : Two principal roles: 1 x Male (Asian), 1 x Female (White)
Chorus : Three male and three female. No specialist knowledge required beyond the ability tomove accurately and expressively. Although experience of Indian dance forms would be an advantage.
Didiji : Manjula's mute companion. Bharat Natyam dancer.

Casting will take the form of an exploratory workshop with Choreographer Shobna Gulati. You may also be asked to perform a two-minute piece of your own choosing - classical (bharata natyam preferred), folk or contemporary dance with expressive and pure dance section. Please bring your own music; a CD player will be provided as will an Ipod dock. Please come prepared and dressed for movement. Those wishing to audition must contact Lisa Rost-Welling.
Dance rehearsals will take the form of 3-4 intensive working weekends during Feb-March in addition to various evening/week-end dates in April.