CALL TO AUDITION:


LOOT

BY JOE ORTON


“Euthanasia is against my religion, so I decided to murder her.”

Young thieves (and lovers) Hal and Dennis need a place to stash the cash from a bank robbery.

The coffin of Hal’s recently deceased mother, currently at home awaiting burial by her bereaved husband Mr McLeavy, is the perfect solution.

There only one hitch: where can they hide the body?

The arrival on the scene of Inspector Truscott, a corrupt and nosy policeman investigating the heist, puts a spanner in the works.

To get out of the jam, the boys are forced to trust Fay, the late Mrs McLeavy’s much-married nurse, and enlist her help in return for a share of the loot.

This blistering queer black comedy eviscerates the hypocrisies of church, state and social niceties, the farce bouncing wildly between the ordinary and the outrageous.

Coming after the success of Entertaining Mr Sloane, it confirmed Orton as one of the most daring and original voices of his generation.

Winner: 1966 Evening Standard Award for Best Play

“Rude, blasphemous, corrosive, articulate, verbally dextrous and howlingly funny” Sunday Express


CREATIVE TEAM & CREW
Director Johann Walraven

PERFORMANCE DATES
10 October to 4 November 2023

REHEARSALS
Rehearsals will commence 28 August with a combination of weekend days, week evenings and possibly weekdays. Exact times and dates tbc, subject to cast availability.

AUDITIONS
It is essential to read the script BEFORE applying. There is a perusal copy of the script available for viewing here.

The initial round of auditions will be done using self-tape. Call-back auditions will be held at Actors Centre Australia in person after self-tape submissions close, exact dates tbc. If you are unable to submit a self-tape, please email the Director at lootnt23@gmail.com to arrange an alternative means of audition.

Your filmed audition should include:
•    A very brief self- introduction, including your name
•     A brief introduction to your chosen audition piece
•    Your audition piece: any comedic Monologue

Once you have captured your audition, upload it as either a private and password-protected Vimeo or a YouTube video using the password ‘Loot23’ and email the link with the below information to lootnt23@gmail.com

In your email, please:

  • Include an up-to-date headshot and cv
  • Indicate which role/roles you are interested in
  • Indicate if you are currently a New Theatre member
  • Indicate your rehearsal availability (days and/or evenings)

Self-tape submissions close 5pm Tue 8 Aug, although earlier submissions are encouraged.

You will only be contacted if we wish to see you for a call-back. If you are not successful in securing a call-back audition, no feedback will be given, but we greatly appreciate your time and thank you for your interest.

ROLES AVAILABLE
Hal: a young man and thief (20-25).
Dennis: another young man who works at a funeral home — Hal’s lover—also a thief (25-30).
Mrs. McCleavy: – recently deceased; a corpse (mother to Hal) (50+) [Note: this role has no lines, as she is deceased, however offers great comedic opportunities as the corpse is ‘abused’ in many ways].
Mr. McCleavy: – father to Hal, husband to the late Mrs McCleavy (50+).
Fay:  a nurse, visiting the home, who has been married seven times and each of her husbands has died under strange circumstances (25-35).
Inspector Truscott:  the brilliant detective come to solve the case (35-45).
Meadows: a police officer assisting Inspector Truscott (20+).

We very much encourage and welcome submissions from people who identify as First Nations, PoC, CaLD, queer and/or gender diverse.

PLEASE NOTE
New Theatre is a volunteer-based organisation and there is no payment for this production.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Johann as Director:  Relativity – Riverside, The Removalists – New Theatre, Never Let Me Go – Griffin Theatre, Silent Disco – New Theatre, Buried – Old 505 Theatre, Consensual – New Theatre, This Boy’s In Love – Ensemble Theatre, Ruby Moon – Samsonite Productions, Beyond Therapy – King St Theatre, The Chekhov Term – New Theatre, Ado Saves The Gay World – TRS, Travesties – STC (Assistant Director), Miss Julie – Darlinghurst Theatre (Assistant Director). As Actor: Since graduating from NIDA in Acting in 2003 Johann has appeared as Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent in Brixton (Ensemble), Mother Church in The Rood Screen (Darlinghurst Theatre), Ethelred in Silence, and Jack in Checklist for an Armed Robber (Belvoir) Mike in Dinner and Boy in Summer (Griffin), Rot in Features of Blown Youth, Hamlet in Hamlet, Semyon in Dying For It (New Theatre), Will and Donny in The Carnivores (TRS), Jaques in As You Like It (Shakespeare Centre), Adam in Alaska (ATYP), Roland in Behind These Lines (The Tunnel Project), Narrator in Angry Harriet (Drop Bear Theatre), Hamlet in Hamlet (Harlos), Hamilton in The Best Brothers (Old 505) and Dr Spivey in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Sport for Jove) amongst other things. Other roles include TV performances in Fireflies, Home and Away, All Saints, Underbelly, Rescue Special Ops, Rake, the U.S feature film Stealth, and numerous short films, TVC’s and music videos.