Important Information
PRODUCTION DATES
The play runs from Monday 9th to Saturday 14th March 2026. Rehearsals will mainly be from 7.30pm on Mondays and Thursdays starting in January 2026.
AUDITIONS
Open Auditions will be held at Moulton Theatre on: –
Saturday 1st November 2025 @ 10:30am
For those interested in auditioning or if you would like any further information about the play or characters then please contact the director, Neil Brook via email – neilbrooke@hotmail.com
If you are unable to make the audition date, but would like to audition then please let the director know as an alternative date/time can be arranged if required.
Please do come along – a good turnout is needed to fill all the parts!
Director: Neil Brooke
Synopsis
Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard, but a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers. Jefferson’s monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested to the limit by the enthusiastic am-dram thespians. As acting worlds collide and Jefferson’s career implodes, he discovers some truths about himself – along with his inner Lear!
Cast
DESCRIPTIONS OF CHARACTERS
JEFFERSON STEELE – A fading Hollywood star who is arrogant, insecure, brash, gauche,
demanding, vulnerable and ultimately aware of his own absurdity.
DOROTHY NETTLE – Director of the Stratford Players and the moving force behind keeping
the theatre alive. Her sweet and accommodating manner conceals her inner steel.
JESSICA STEELE – Jefferson’s teenage daughter, who has been neglected by her Hollywood
star father and now wants to make him pay for it.
NIGEL DEWBURY – Solicitor and leading light of the Stratford Players. Pompous, stuck-up and
self-regarding, he believes he is the star of the show, and should play all the leading roles. He
also fancies his romantic chances with Dorothy.
MARY PLUNKETT – Owner of the Rectory bed and breakfast. Jolly, generous and an
unashamedly adoring Jefferson Steele fan — although somewhat confused about which roles he
played in his films, and how keen he is on her.
DENIS DOBBINS – Handyman and village Mr. Fixit. Avuncular though slightly dull, Denis is star-
struck by Jefferson and fancies heading up his entourage of one.
LAUREN BELL – Thirty-something marketing executive former physiotherapist and the sponsor’s
wife. Passionate about the arts and smarter than her husband allows her to be, she’s treated as
a bimbo because of her looks.