SLT Audition

Auditions: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

By Bertolt Brecht

Audition one

Date: 1 Oct 2023

Time: 10:00 - 12:30

Location: SLT - SE27 9NS

Audition two

Date: 2 Oct 2023

Time: 20:00 - 22:00

Location: SLT - SE27 9NS

Audition three

Date: 8 Oct 2023

Time: 10:00 - 12:30

Location: SLT - SE27 9NS

A 1941 play by the German playwright, Bertolt Brecht. The play is a satire of Hitler’s rise to power, telling the story of a gangster, Arturo Ui, as he seizes control of the vegetable trade in 1930s' Chicago and neighbouring Cicero, Illinois. It is a cautionary tale that shows us the ridiculous and preventable rise of Nazi power. This play is one of Brecht’s most entertaining: while the subject is dark, the characters are vibrant and interesting.

The play is not naturalistic, it’s more stylised, so auditions for all parts will be gender neutral. Several characters have only one scene, so actors can play multiple roles.

Director: Penelope Lipsham

Performances: 16 - 21 Jan 2024

First Rehearsal: 22 Oct 2023

Characters:

Arturo Ui : Vicious head gangster (lead role)

Givola: Top gangster and florist

Roma: Top gangster - Arturo Ui’s sidekick

Giri: Top gangster

Greenwool: Gangster

Old Dogsborough: Honourable city mayor, who gets corrupted

Young Dogsborough: Old Dogsborough’s son and protégé

Butcher: Businessman of The Cauliflower Trust

Bowl: Businessman of The Cauliflower Trust

Clark: Businessman of The Cauliflower Trust

Sheet : Businessman of The Cauliflower Trust

Ragg: Local reporter

Dockdaisy: Associate of Arturo Ui

Servant: Dogsborough’s servant

O’Casey: Chairman of the Inquiry

Smith: Inquiry clerk

Actor: Actor who teaches Arturo Ui to be charismatic

Judge: Judge in the trial

Crocket: Witness in the trial

Fish: Witness in the trial

Court physician: Witness in the trial

Defense council : Lawyers in the trial

Prosecution: Lawyers in the trial

Wounded woman: Woman injured as gangsters seize power

Ignatius Dullfoot: Newspaper editor corrupted by Arturo Ui

Betty Dullfoot: Ignatius Dullfoot’s wife

Shorty: Gangster, one of Roma’s boys

Inna: Gangster, one of Roma’s boys

Minister: Minister conducting the funeral

Master of ceremonies: Introduces the characters

Poster, showing a man looking like Adolf Hitler with clenched fists