by Federico García Lorca. Directed by Michael Reilly.
Performance date and time :
Wednesday 9 December at 7.30pm.
To be performed at the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington.
Audition date and times :
Sunday 15 November at 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm. Auditions will take place at the Tower Theatre, Stoke Newington. Contact the Director, Michael Reilly, to arrange an audition.
Auditions are for Tower Theatre Company Members only.
Please note that you cannot audition for any show if you have not passed a company audition. If you would like to join the Company, please contact our membership/auditions secretary Stephen Brasher here for more information.
Please identify which character you would like to audition for and the slot (morning or afternoon) you would prefer. At the audition, you will be asked to perform scenes from the play with other auditionees. We will provide online copies of the scenes in advance. Printed copies of the scenes will be made available on the day. The full translation will not be available prior to rehearsal but if you do not know the play there are many published translations available to read. You will be informed of the outcome of your audition soon after the auditions have taken place.
About the Play
Spain,1936, a fractious society on the cusp of Civil War. In an obscure village, oppressed by merciless sun, recently-widowed Bernarda Alba fights to maintain order in an unruly household of five unmarried daughters, oblivious to the storm that is gathering, threatening the fragile calm of their discontented lives.
Federico García Lorca’s masterful drama of desire, jealousy and honour in a new translation, never previously performed.
Cast Breakdown
BERNARDA, land-owner, clever, feisty, a disciplinarian, some say a tyrant, snobbish, scornful, holds strongly conservative values, traditionalist, follows strictly the tenets of Catholicism, defender of her family and fiercely opposed to anything that might damage their reputation, more practical than insightful, reveres her father, respectful of men, loves her daughters, yet tragically myopic in matters of the heart, female, playing age 50-60
LA PONCIA, servant, long-suffering, antagonistic to BERNARDA, though often a close confidante, subtly vengeful, yet mindful of the reputation of the House where she works, enjoys the theatricality of Catholicism, sensitive to her own mother’s scandalous past, wise, insightful, humorous, playful, pragmatist, female, 50-60
CRIADA, servant, poor, protective of her daughter, unquestioningly loyal to BERNARDA, secret lover of her recently deceased husband, 20-60 years
MARÍA JOSEFA, Mother of BERNARDA, cared for, considered mad, views herself as imprisoned and maltreated, somewhat estranged from her family, free-spirited, poetic, passionate, yearns for another life, longs for a husband, and another child, female, 70-80
ANGUSTIAS, Daughter of BERNARDA, half-sister to the other daughters, wealthier, well-landed, betrothed to Pepe el Romano, wealthy, modest, ambitious, prone to ill-health, resented by her less wealthy half-sisters, 30-40
MAGDALENA, Daughter of BERNARDA, observant, perceptive, nostalgic, protective of ADELA, resentful of ANGUSTIAS, close to BERNARDA, female, 30-40
AMELIA, Daughter of BERNARDA, intelligent, enlightened, considerate, idealistic, close to MARTIRIO, female, 20-30
MARTIRIO, Daughter of BERNARDA, lovelorn, frustrated, mournful, hesitant, prone to ill-health, increasingly gripped by evil intent, eventually sworn enemy to ADELA, female, 20-30
ADELA, Daughter of BERNARDA, headstrong, free-spirited, yearns to follow her own contrary idea of life, instinctive, scathing, combative, possessed by a passionate desire for Pepe el Romano, poetic, tragic, female, 20-30
The minor roles of PRUDENCIA, WOMAN #1-#4, BEGGAR and MUCHACHA will be doubled among the cast.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals will be on Sunday 29 November (10am-1pm, 2pm-5pm), Sunday 6 December (10am-1pm, 2pm-5pm) and Tuesday 8 December (7pm-10pm). All are called for these rehearsals with no exceptions.
 Michael Reilly writes songs and stories that sometimes compel him to direct. He most recently directed Anne Boleyn at the Tower; before that he directed Ted Hughes’ translation of Jean Racine’s Phèdre at the Network Theatre, as well as his own translation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s Yerma in 2024. Other credits include Moving Day at the Southwark Playhouse (writer/director) in 2023 and Staying Alive at the Tower (Assistant Director and Assistant Stage Manager) last year. |