Breaking Point - drama festival

Saturday 18^th July – Sunday 26^th July. 

Each of the nine plays will have three performances.  All nine will be scheduled across both weekends with additional shows on weekday evenings.

The plays will take you on a journey through extremes of love, loyalty, desperation, and defiance, in a two-week celebration of theatre. This festival will provide opportunities for actors and audiences alike to discover just how far someone will go… to fight, to protect, to risk everything, or even save the world.

Audition dates 

• Tuesday 5th May, 8pm
• Friday 8th May, 7pm

AUDITION INFORMATION:

Auditions will take place across two dates: Tuesday and Friday (see above). Each play has been assigned a specific audition day, so please check carefully to confirm when you should attend. This may mean attending both days if you are interested in multiple productions.

If you’re unavailable on the assigned day for a play you’re interested in, we may be able to accommodate you on the alternative date. Please make sure to include your availability on your audition form. There is also an option to specify your preferences, and whether you would be happy to be considered for an alternative production than your preferred option(s). You may also select 'I have no preference' from the list if you're happy to be considered for all.

AUDITION FORM:

Please ensure you complete and submit the audition form by Monday 4th May here.

If you are unable to attend please try to let us know at least 24 hours in advance for logistical reasons.

ABOUT THE PLAYs:

The Prudes by Anthony Neilson

Directed by Lucy Oglesby

Tonight is the last chance for Jess and Jimmy to save their nine-year relationship, and they're attempting it right in front of you. They haven't been intimate in fourteen months and four days. The wine is chilled, the pillows are ready, the mood music is playing. They still find each other attractive. They still make each other laugh. So, what's stopping them? As they strip away excuses and defences, this couple must confront uncomfortable truths about desire, consent, victimhood, and whose story it really is to tell.

A sharp, provocative comedy about intimacy and accountability, The Prudes asks: when the stakes are this high, can you ever really start over?

CAST: 1F [age 30], 1M [age 38]

Audition 2: Friday 8th May, 7pm

The Girl in the Machine by Stef Smith

Directed by Lesley Strachan 

What if you could escape? Not just for an hour, but forever. The Black Box promises exactly that – relief from the daily grind, a cure for depression, even eternal bliss. Everyone's getting one. It's the future. When Owen brings one home, Polly is sceptical. They have everything figured out: successful careers, a passionate marriage, plans for the life ahead. But as the headset's seductive pull takes hold, Polly watches the person she loves slip further and further away into a digital paradise she can't reach. And when the line between human and machine begins to blur, how do you hold onto someone who's already gone?

A gripping vision of technology's darkest promises, Girl in the Machine asks: what are we willing to lose in exchange for happiness?

CAST: 1F, 1M [both in 30s]

Audition 2: Friday 8th May, 7pm

 

Escaped Alone by Caryl Churchill

Directed by Carrie Cable

Apocalypse is in the air. On a summer afternoon, four women gather in a suburban back garden for tea. They're old friends – well, three of them are. The fourth, Mrs Jarrett, is a neighbour invited in from over the fence. They talk about cats, the weather, TV shows, the antique shop that replaced the old grocers. But something darker lurks beneath the surface. As the afternoon wears on, the line between the garden and the abyss grows thinner. 

Caryl Churchill balances the catastrophic with the everyday, revealing that the real apocalypse might not be out there at all – it might be right here, under the sun, in the things we can't quite bring ourselves to say.

CAST: 4F [ages 60+]

Audition 1: Tuesday 5th May, 8pm

Kiss Me by Richard Bean

Directed by Paula Robinson

London, 1929. Stephanie is a 32-year-old war widow facing a future without children. The First World War has left thousands of women like her. But her doctor has an unorthodox solution that goes against every expectation of the era: a surrogate father. But when Stephanie and Dennis meet in her bedroom, something shifts as two lost souls collide. Can they escape the guilt and ghosts of the past? Or will the rules they've broken pull them under?

A beautiful and intimate story about longing, survival, and the unexpected places we find connection in the wreckage of history.

CAST: 1F [age 32], 1M [age 28]

Audition 2: Friday 8th May, 7pm

Precious Little Talent by Ella Hickson

Directed by Craig Legg

Fresh out of university with a first-class degree, mounting debt and no clear future, Joey arrives in New York from the UK, clinging to the promise that life was meant to turn out differently.  Instead, she finds her estranged father unravelling. She has a chance encounter with Sam, an idealistic young American full of optimism who challenges her cynicism and forces her to confront the expectations she’s built her life around. But as hope collides with reality, Joey must decide what she’s willing to let go of. 

Funny, raw and sharply observed, Precious Little Talent is a story about a generation sold a dream, and the difficult, messy process of figuring out who you are when it doesn’t come true.

CAST: 1F [age 23], 2M [ages 19 + 60]

Audition 2: Friday 8th May, 7pm

The Yalta Game by Brian Friel

Directed by Paddy Cooper

In the central square of Yalta, two strangers pass the time by inventing lives for the people around them. It’s a harmless game... or so it seems. When Dmitri strikes up a conversation with a mysterious woman, flirtation leads to an unexpected affair, and the stories they’ve been telling begin to blur with reality. 

Brian Friel's adaptation of Chekhov's The Lady With the Dog is an intimate, playful and devastating story that asks: when does a story we tell about ourselves become the truth?

CAST: 1F, 1M

Audition 1: Tuesday 5th May, 8pm

Trust by Roger Blitz

Directed by Alexa Adam

Just how cut-throat is the corporate world? Annie is told she’s been chosen for the job at a new company because she’s someone who can be trusted. But as she’s intrigued by her charismatic new boss and legal adviser, the promise of success suddenly seems suspiciously out of reach. Cracks begin to show, loyalties are tested, and Annie finds herself caught between ambition, integrity, and friendship. 

Trust is a sharp, unsettling exploration of power, manipulation and the cost of believing in the wrong people – asking how far you’ll go, and what you’ll sacrifice, to belong. 

 

CAST: 3F [ages 25, 30 & 50], 1M [age 35-45]

Audition 2: Friday 8th May, 7pm

Seven Second Theory by Megan Good

Directed by Emily Mark and Megan Good

John Doe is dying. He just doesn't know it yet. A man with no identity and no one to call is comatose with seven seconds left on the clock. According to the seven second theory, as the brain shuts down, it reveals your core memories, replaying an entire life in a matter of seconds. John's life is about to flash before his eyes. All of it. Join him on this funny, raw, and moving journey through a life lived just slightly wrong.

The Seven Second Theory asks: if you had seven seconds left to sum up your life, what would you see?

CAST: 2F, 1M, 2 ANY 

Audition 1: Tuesday 5th May, 8pm

And one more To Be Announced

 

CAST: 2F, 2M [subject to change]

Audition 1: Tuesday 5th May, 8pm

FESTIVAL COMPANY:

Whilst individual plays may only have a couple of cast and be performed thrice,  our summer festivals are a result of the Company working together and so please note that those cast will be expected to be available for the duration of the festival. This will entail supporting other shows and festival activities (eg working on the bar, front of house, marketing or backstage) however you will also be able to see every show for free and there will be social activities to get to know your fellow performers.

Diversity, Inclusion & Casting Vision

PTC is committed to diversity and inclusion. We want a membership that is reflective of the diverse communities within London. We actively encourage all performers to audition for the roles which they feel best suit their skills.

Where ethnicities are not listed against the characters, we would openly encourage actors of all ethnicities to consider those roles.

COSTS

Please note that this is an amateur production. You do not need to be a member of Putney Theatre Company to audition, but actors and crew will need to become a member of Putney Theatre Company to take part in the show. That cost is currently £30 a year.

There is also a show fee of £15 which will need to be paid by all actors in the production, which goes towards the cost of putting on the show and insurance. 

We encourage you to become a member of PTC anyway, even if not cast.

Our company is run by volunteers and we expect all actors cast in a production to volunteer for Front of House duties at least once a year. Our shows could not go up without our Front of House volunteers.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

PTC knows that taking part in a show can be a significant financial burden. We are committed to being as inclusive as possible. So, if you would like to discuss how we can help you, a member of the committee will be able to confidentially assist. Please enquire for more information. Rest assured, if you have requested financial assistance, it will have no bearing on whether you are cast in the show.

OTHER WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

There are always other ways to be involved in the production other than auditioning. If you would like to be a part of the production team please email ptcbreakingpoint@gmail.com   

We are looking for people to get involved with the following roles:

• Sound
• Stage management
• Set building
• Marketing