Autumn play Director’s pitch

Network are staging No Exit this week (7th 8th 9th February) and we are organising our Summer production of Julius Caesar in July. We are now looking to take pitches for a possible Autumn play and would welcome ideas from anyone interested in directing or producing a particular work. Please respond in the first instance with your idea to liverpoolnetworktheatre@gmail.com

No Exit: Video Preview

Rehearsals for our latest show NO EXIT (Huis Clos) are in full swing!

Andy Kerr is directing, and we are in a hotel room in Limbo, where several damned souls are gathered. At first, the group denies where they are or why they’re there. When the horrible truth dawns upon them, they carp and snipe at one another, blaming everyone but themselves for their dismal fate.
 
Check out our very special video preview here: http://bit.ly/2zyKLHW
 
No Exit, written by Jean Paul Sartre. Casa L’pool Theatre 7th 8th 9th February 7.30pm 

Casting call: In Camera (Huis Clos), Jean Paul Sartre

Thursday 14th September 7:00pm at
Hope Street Ltd, 76 Lord Street
Liverpool, L2 1TL

Imagine dying, knowing that you’ve committed a crime and expecting to go to Hell. But instead of finding a fiery furnace, instruments of torture and demons to torment you, you’re simply in an ordinary living room, with two other ordinary people. You’re all in the same boat, seemingly randomly thrown together to grapple with the consequences of your past. Or not, as the case may be. It gradually dawns on you that as much as you want the others to help you make sense of the situation, or comfort you, or provide distraction from your conscience, they won’t be able to. Not only that, but you are destined to grind each other’s gears, locked in the same room together with no sleep for all eternity. Who needs demons? ‘Hell is other people’

Network’s next production, directed by Andy Kerr, will revive Sartre’s classic of French existential theatre, and will provide opportunity for four actors to engage with the characters, themes and contemporary interpretation of a classic text. Cast members will be expected to cope well with direction and concentrated rehearsal process, and to be available for the whole rehearsal run from late September till performance in late November (exact dates to be confirmed) .The play will be performed in English translation from the original French.

Auditions will run from 7-9 and be conducted partly in a workshop environment in small groups as well as requiring some formal script reading which will be made available on the night. It is not necessary to prepare audition pieces, and latitude will be given in acknowledgement of the difficulties of sight reading. Potential cast members should therefore attend the whole session.

Characters

Joseph Garcin – His cowardice and callousness caused his young wife to die “of grief” after his execution. He is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and deserted during an unspecified military conflict. He was unfaithful to his wife – he even recalls, without any sympathy, bringing home another woman one night, and his wife bringing them their morning coffee after hearing their engagement all night.

Inès Serrano – Inès is the second character to enter the room. A lesbian postal clerk, she turned a wife against her husband, twisting the wife’s perception of her spouse and the subsequent murder of the man (who is Inès’ cousin).

Estelle Rigault – Estelle is a high-society woman, a blonde who married an older man for his money and had an affair with a younger man. To her, the affair is merely an insignificant fling, but her lover becomes emotionally attached to her and she bears him a child. She drowns the child by throwing it into the lake, which drives her lover to commit suicide.

Valet – The Valet enters the room with each character, but his only real dialogue is with Garcin. We learn little about him, except that his uncle is the head valet, and that he does not have any eyelids, which links to Garcin because Garcin’s eyelids are atrophied.

There is some flexibility in playing ages, with a suggestion that Ines and Garcin are somewhat older than Estelle, who might me in mid to late twenties.

PS It sounds grim, but there is plenty of gallows humour to spice up the moral philosophy, and the rehearsal process of group work with a small cast will be demanding, but fun as long as people can go with the flow.

See you there!

Sandra (posting on behalf of Andy)

Network news: August

Hello Networkers! Here is an update of what LNTG is currently up to 🙂 

Summer show

It’s already almost two weeks since we completed our summer play, The Taming of the Shrew, which was graced with very good audience numbers, very high energy, very mixed weather and a very positive response from those who saw it. So thanks to everyone who came out to experience the show and support your favourite community theatre group! You can read a review by Mark Davoren at North West End at the following link: http://www.northwestend.co.uk/index.php/amateur-reviews/2221-the-taming-of-the-shrew-liverpool-theatre-network

We also introduced a beautiful new outdoor venue into our annual tour this year – below is an impression of the cast in full flow at the Seafront Gardens in Waterloo.

Workshops

As always, our weekly Tuesday workshops persevere, with varying topics and exercises each week. The next one (8th August) will be led by Networker Adrian Rawsthorne and is entitled “A big bag of tools for Creating Character”.

Workshops take place every Tuesday, 7-9pm at “Hope St. Ltd” on Lord Street (entrance between McDonald’s and Specsavers, ring the bell for the fourth floor. The building/workshop space is wheelchair accessible.) They are run on a drop-in basis and attract a wide range of ages and acting experience (beginners welcome)! We ask for a contribution of £3 (£1.50 unwaged) per person.

We are also planning two consecutive workshops (19th and 26th September) which will focus on directing, giving workshop participants a chance to try their hand at this discipline, and others to be directed by them. 

The best way to find up-to-date information is to check our Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/39367677658/

We will also be announcing other events in the coming weeks/months, such as a Network pub quiz, our annual Christmas revue and any news about forthcoming productions.

 

Happy Networking and see you soon. 

Sandra on behalf of LNTG x

Summer Show: The Taming of The Shrew

Rehearsals are running full speed for our upcoming summer show, The Taming of the Shrew, which opens in just over two weeks and will be performed at various beautiful locations in Liverpool. Time to get your tickets! You can book online via https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/thetamingoftheshrew.

Please check the poster above (or the ticket link) for full details about the Where and When.

Below is a snap from a successful first outdoor rehearsal – we hope to see you at one of the shows, and if you come to one of the outdoor shows, why not bring a picnic (and a whole bunch of friends)!

LNTG spring production “I Have Been Here Before” (5th/6th May) & Light Night

Network’s spring play, JB Priestley’s “I Have Been Here Before” is almost upon us! The show will be performed Friday 5th May (7.30pm) and Saturday 6th May (2pm & 7.30pm) at the Unitarian Church on Ullet Road and we’re all looking forward to what’s in store for us here. 

“Liverpool Network Theatre Group presents J B Priestley’s exploration of deja vu. When six characters find themselves thrown together to stay in a country inn on the Yorkshire moors for Whitsuntide it seems to be pure chance. But their interconnectedness soon becomes apparent as they are inexorably drawn to some irksome, illusive conclusion.”

Tickets are available at the following link, be sure to get yours soon: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/liverpoolnetworktheatre

You can also see all details and RSVP to the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1869781279971681/

 

Also, if you’re around town on Light Night (Friday 19th May), why not pop into Blackburne House, where LNTG will be performing a preview of this year’s summer show, The Taming of the Shrew, along with some of Shakespeare’s sonnets? 

Info on the flyer below:

See you all soon! x

Second audition session for “I Have Been Here Before” – Monday 20th Feb

Hi everyone,

We are holding another audition session for LNTG’s next Production: J.B. Priestley’s “I Have Been Here Before”, Directed by Sonia Chapman, and Produced by Andy Kerr.

Venue: Ma Boyle’s Alehouse & Eatery
Tower Building, The Strand, L3 1BH Liverpool

Time: 7-9pm

Auditions are open and require no prior preparation.

We have the following parts still to cast:

Sam Shipley:
Innkeeper and Father of Sally Pratt. Stout, warm, humorous, contented Yorkshireman in his 60s. His accent is broader than his daughter’s but not too broad.
Actor age can be flexible, so long as he can feasibly be Sally’s father. An age range of 40-70 yrs would work.

Oliver Farrant:
28-30yrs old, good looking and charming, with something of the boy left in him and something of the intellectual man. He has a decisive, slightly donnish manner, although not so much with people for whom he is on pleasant and easy terms (e.g. Sally & Sam). Schoolmaster of Lamberton School, but is currently off work, having been “ordered a short rest” (it is not entirely clear why he is off work). Farrant is staying at the Inn and feels at home there.
Actor age needs to be within 28-35yrs so that he is younger than Walter Ormund, and same age or slightly older than Janet Ormund.

Janet Ormund:
Attractive, sensitive woman about 28 yrs old, Wife of Walter Ormund. She is troubled as soon as she arrives at the Inn. There are also issues within her marriage which remain a mystery, but are clearly a source of stress for both Janet and Walter.
Actress age needs to be mid-20s to early 30s.

Walter Ormund:
Biggish man in his early 40s, whose manner alternates between alert, sharp command, on the one hand, and a gloomy brooding, on the other. There are problems in his marriage with Janet. He is a workaholic and drinks a lot.
Actor age to be in 40s.

About the Play:

‘I Have Been Here Before’ is a play in three acts, set in the sitting room of the Black Bull Inn, Grindle Moor, North Yorkshire at Whitsuntide in 1937. There are 6 characters, the Innkeeper: Sam Shipley, his daughter: Sally Pratt, a German Professor in Exile: Dr Görtler, a local school headmaster: Oliver Farrant, and a married couple: Janet & Walter Ormund. Aside from Sam and Sally, all the other characters are guests at the Inn.
The play is an existential brooding drama, centred around a theory that we repeat our lives constantly in a sort of spiral. We make the same decisions again and again, and can break out of the cycle once we realise and understand the forces that govern us.
Dr Görtler has come to the Black Bull in to intervene in what he knows will be a love affair leading to suicide and poverty.

Please RSVP on the Facebook event, or contact Sonia Chapman – PM or chapmansonia@gmail.com.

Tickets on sale for White Liars/Black Comedy

Tickets are now on sale for Liverpool Network Theatre’s Peter Shaffer double bill in February.
“White Liars” & “Black Comedy” are two one-act plays by the acclaimed author of Amadeus and Equus.

Performance times:
Fri 3rd Feb, 7.30pm
Sat 4th Feb, 2pm & 7.30pm
(doors open 7pm / 1.30pm)

To be performed at the Gregson Memorial Institute, 55 Garmoyle Road, Liverpool L15 3HN

Tickets available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/blackandwhite

See below for more details!

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White Liars: Sophie, Baroness Lemberg, is a disillusioned fortune teller in an out-of-season resort. She is visited by Tom, the lead singer in a rock band, and his business manager, Frank. It soon becomes clear that Frank has an ulterior motive in the visit, but as Sophie looks into her crystal ball we find that life really is stranger than fiction…

Black Comedy: This hilarious farce plays on light and dark. Brindsley Miller is an unsuccessful artist whose big chance has finally come, with a visit from eccentric millionaire art collector, Georg Bamberger. There are just a few problems to overcome: being engaged to Carol without having properly ended things with previous girlfriend Clea, the first meeting with Carol’s terrifying military father and having ‘borrowed’ his possessive neighbour Harold’s furniture to spruce up his flat. And then the lights go out…

Tickets for Humble Boy now on sale!

Liverpool Network Theatre Group are delighted to present ‘Humble Boy’, the award-winning play (2001 Critics Theatre Award for New Play) by Charlotte Jones.

Take a stammering astrophysicist, add his waspish mother, her boorish beau and his free-spirited daughter, sprinkle with a nervous family friend and garnish with a wise gardener. Place all in the warmth of an idyllic British summer and watch the desperately cultivated veneer of civility disintegrate deliciously. Humble Boy is a gorgeous celebration of language and the madness of life, like the bees that buzz in Felix’s head even though they have been banished from the beehive. It is thematically rich and boldly theatrical whilst remaining uncompromisingly and intimately human with plenty to think about once the sun has finally set on the Humbles’ garden.

Humble Boy runs from the 16th to 18th November, 2016 at Blackburne House, starting at 1900 and running for approximately two hours, including an intermission. Tickets are £8/6 available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/humbleboy

Blackburne House’s cafe/bistro and bar will be open throughout the evening and offer a pre-theatre menu which can be booked either on 0151 708 3929 or via www.blackburnehouse.co.uk. In addition, there is a 10% discount on all food purchased directly at the counter.

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Black Comedy/White Liars open auditions

Open auditions for the next Network production, a double bill of plays by Peter Shaffer, will take place on Wednesday 26th October between 6 and 9pm at our workshop venue, Hope St Ltd on Lord Street (entrance between McDonalds and Specsavers, ring bell for 3rd floor), with rehearsals throughout December and January.

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Black Comedy: This hilarious farce plays on light and dark: when the lights are ‘on’ the stage is pitch black, but after a few minutes there is a power cut, the stage lights come on and the audience can see the actors.

Brindlsey Miller is an unsuccessful artist whose big chance has finally come, with a visit from eccentric millionaire art collector, Georg Bamberger. There are just a few problems to overcome: being engaged to Carol without having properly ended things with previous girlfriend Clea, the first meeting with Carol’s terrifying military father and having ‘borrowed’ his possessive neigbour Harold’s furniture to spruce up his flat. And then the lights go out.
ROLES
Brindsley Miller: a young sculptor, intelligent and attractive, but nervous and uncertain of himself. 20s-30s
Carol Melkett: Brindsley’s fiancee. A young debutante; very pretty, very spoilt, very silly. 20s-30s
Miss Furnival: a middle-aged lady. Prissy and refined. The archetypal middle-class spinster… until alcohol undoes her. 30s-50s
Colonel Melkett: Carol’s commanding father. Brisk, barky, yet given to sudden vocal calms which suggest a deep and alarming instability. 40s-50s
Harold Gorringe: the bachelor owner of an antiques shop and Brindsley’s neighbour, Harold comes from the North of England. Possessive and an expert in emotional blackmail, with a tendency to become hysterical. 30s-60s
Schuppanzigh: a cheery and cultivated German refugee. Delighted with his life and job at the London Electricity Board. 30s+
Clea: Brindsley’s ex-girlfriend. Mid-twenties, dazzling, emotional, bright and mischievous. 20s-30s
Bamberger: an elderly millionaire art collector. Also German. A walk-on part (but potentially a scene stealer!). 30s+

White Liars: Sophie, Baroness Lemberg, is a disillusioned fortune teller in an out-of-season resort. She is visited by Tom, the lead singer in a rock band, and his business manager, Frank. It soon becomes clear that Frank has an ulterior motive in the visit, but as Sophie looks into her crystal ball it becomes clear that life really is stranger than fiction and all three have something to hide.
ROLES
Sophie, Baroness Lemberg: an Austrian fortune teller who has fallen on hard times at an out-of-season English resort. A classy and educated lady who feels her best days may all be behind her.
Frank: young manager of The White Liars, a rock band. Frank is nervous and unsure of himself and has an urgent favour to ask of Sophie.
Tom: the lead singer in The White Liars, Tom is fascinating and attractive, but highly superstitious and ready to believe in fortune telling in general. A Yorkshire accent would help here.

Please note that we are a community theatre group and these are unpaid roles. If you’d like to audition for either or both plays, please email sandra.tschackert@googlemail.com indicating which roles you would like to audition for and if you have a preference in terms of timing. We will sort out a few different time slots and confirm nearer the date.