NORTHANGER ABBEY

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.  Adapted by Sabrina Poole

Director:  Sabrina Poole

Show dates:  18th – 22nd March 2026

Audition dates:  Saturday 22nd November 10am – 12noon / 1:30pm – 3:30pm / 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Recalls: 

Thursday 27th November 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Saturday 29th November 10am – 8pm (slots allocated)

THE PLAY

Northanger Abbey is Austen’s Gothic satire. A sharp pastiche of its time but withheld from publication until roughly twenty years after it was first written. The story centres on the young and impressionable Catherine Morland. Sheltered from the world and obsessed with Gothic novels, she is whisked off to Bath with little idea of what the world truly holds. Fuelled by tales of nefarious villains, brooding heroes, and damsels at the mercy of evil plots, Catherine reads menace into manners and mystery into the mundane. Can she learn to separate fiction from reality before heartbreak becomes her final chapter?

THE APPROACH

We’re taking a bold, stylised approach with fast-paced, dynamic storytelling. Cast members will multi-role, shifting seamlessly between characters, creating busy streets, bustling ballrooms, and rattling carriages. Expect fluid transitions—from Bath ballroom to country walk to gothic abbey—using historical dance to create movement, and even a touch of stage combat. This adaptation fuses Austen’s sharp wit with gothic flair and Regency elegance. The script will evolve during the rehearsal process, so collaboration is essential.

AUDITIONS

Auditions will take the form of group workshops –  working with Regency dance (no previous dance experience is required) and devising from text. Please email Sabrina with a completed audition form (see below) to book into a session on Saturday 22nd – stating which of the sessions you are available for. If you cannot make the 22nd please still complete a form and contact Sabrina.

CASTING

Apart from the central role of Catherine Morland all other parts will be multi-roled. There is the opportunity for a larger ensemble with actors who wish for fewer lines / more movement, or a smaller group with actors taking on more of the parts. Below is a list of named characters that feature within the play. Character ages are given as guidelines only.

NAMED ROLES

Catherine Morland (18) – Naïve and inexperienced, but infallibly honest, without conceit and a strong sense of what is right.

Henry Tilney – 26 –  Witty, kind and intelligent, sincere and loyal.

Mr Allen – 50s+ – A dry and sarcastic but kind man. He is like an uncle to Catherine.

Mrs Allen – 40s+ – A silly woman with a good heart but not sense enough to use it.

Isabella Thorpe – 20s – A beautiful and charming but conniving social climber.

John Thorpe – 20s – Unscrupulous, brash and rude. Isabella’s brother.

James Morland – 20s – Catherine’s older brother. True and kind, but blinded by love.

Mr Morland – 40s+ – Catherine’s father. Even-tempered and considered man.

Mrs Morland – 40s+ – Catherine’s mother. A no-nonsense, protective woman.

Mrs Thrope – 40s + – A frivolous and scheming widow.

Eleanor Tilney – 20s – Henry’s sister – a gentle-mannered young woman.

Captain Tilney – 30s – The eldest Tilney brother. Arrogant and dismissive.

General Tilney – 50s+ – a forbidding and changeable man.

Other roles – Thorpe Sisters, Morland Sisters, maid, servant, crowd, gentlemen, gothic hero 1, gothic villain 1 … and more….

AUDITION FORM

FAITH HEALER

by Brian Friel

Director:  Chris Bealey

Performance dates:  20th – 26th April 2026

Note:  This is an Emmerson Studio production, though we are looking into staging performances off site as well.

Audition dates:  December 6th 2pm-4pm; December 13th 12-2pm; December 17th 7-9pm

Recalls:  December 17th 7-9pm; 18th December 7-9pm or as individually arranged.

To book an audition, please complete the Audition Submission Form at the end and email it to brianhardyfriel@gmail.com

PRODUCTION NOTES

Faith Healer is an intimate play about memory, truth, and the ambiguity of faith. Told through four monologues, it centres on Francis Hardy, an itinerant healer; his partner, Grace; and his manager, Teddy. Together, they recount years spent touring rural Scotland and Wales, where Frank offered cures that sometimes succeeded, sometimes failed. Frank, the “Fantastic Francis Hardy,” is torn between belief in his gift and fear of fraudulence. Grace’s account reveals the emotional cost of their wandering life, her grief, and her destructive devotion to Frank. Teddy recalls their tours with warmth and humour, though beneath his showmanship lies regret and loneliness. Their overlapping but contradictory memories leave truth uncertain: Was Frank a healer or a fraud? Was Grace cherished or mistreated?

The play ends with Frank’s return to Ireland, showing Faith Healer as less about miracles than about the stories we tell to survive.

CHARACTER NOTES FOR AUDITIONS

Each role has its own intensity and requires an actor who feels they will be comfortable working on their own with a monologue of between 25 and 40 minutes in length. I value working with actors new as well as those I’ve worked with before. Anyone wanting to audition should make an attempt at learning at least part of their audition piece and work on the relevant accent.

If you want more information contact me at: brianhardyfriel@gmail.com

Frank Hardy  (likely age 45+) is a role of contradictions: part showman, part broken man.  His balance shifts between faith and fraud, confidence and crippling doubt. He can mesmerize with charisma, yet his vulnerability constantly surfaces. His storytelling is both performance and self-persuasion, demanding emotional fluidity and restless energy. Physically and vocally, he should project authority but reveal fragility underneath. His final journey is one of tragic acceptance—portraying a man who, after a lifetime of wandering, faces fate with weary dignity.

Audition pieces: p4, p13 – ‘Then suddenly’  to ‘ ….consciously and relentlessly debauched’, p53 – ‘I carried this around with me for years’ to p53 ‘…. And threw it away.’

Grace Hardy ( younger than Frank) demands a balance of strength and vulnerability. She is defined by love and sacrifice, yet scarred by loss, isolation, and Frank’s instability. Performing Grace requires emotional depth: bitterness and devotion often coexist in her words. You will reveal her resilience while exposing her fragility, portraying a woman both sustained and undone by her bond with Frank.

Audition pieces: p16-17 – to ‘…that you once brought to a legal case’ , p26 – ‘Faith Healer’ to ‘just an illusion, isn’t it?’

Teddy (Frank’s manager – older than Frank) offers warmth and humour but crucially an account filled with pathos to describe his life with Frank and Grace. Teddy is  a contrast to Frank and Grace’s intensity. Teddy is a showman masking loneliness with charm and anecdotes. Playing Teddy requires timing, lightness, and subtle heartbreak—he is both comic relief and a poignant witness, revealing deep loyalty and vulnerability beneath his genial, theatrical exterior.

Audition pieces: p33-34 – ‘let me tell you about two dogs I had once’ to ‘ I tell you a philosopher that’s what you become’ p50-51 ‘ but I was telling you about the poster’ to the end’

AUDITION FORM