Guardians of the Pantoverse Audition

Auditions: Sunday 24th July 6.00pm

Performance Dates: 3rd to 11th December

King Rat, the malevolent, be-whiskered (and occasionally rapping) head of Megacorp (a fiendishly evil corporate empire) has kidnapped some of our favourite fairytale characters and trapped them in his dastardly computer game: “The Pantoverse.” And it falls to our hero, Jack - fresh from his exploits with a certain beanstalk – to rescue them. To succeed, he must navigate various, ingenious levels of the game, retrieving special panto icons as he goes – the magic lamp, the glass slipper etc. Into this interactive, virtual world we’ll mix all the usual panto silliness – the triple entendres, the “behind yous” the cross-dressing (in both directions!) and the audience participation.  

Written by our very own Daniel Wain – I’m sure many of you still talk about his magnificent Dick (Whittington) from a few years ago – he’s stuffed this brand-new show with a host of brilliant fantasy characters.

For audition dialogue, song lyrics and backing tracks, click here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/40t8ofc1xhomhwf/AACRSwAn_1WVz00K6snCgfMUa?dl=0

Characters

Jack (from ‘Jack & the Beanstalk’)

Our hero.  The main protagonist and driver of the plot.  It’s Jack who leads us through the MegaGame, releasing his panto friends and capturing the five panto icons (magic beans, glass slipper, magic lamp, golden goose and red apple) that, when reunited, mean we’ve won the game!  Does a lot of the heavy-lifting: charming the parents, befriending the kids, singing, dancing and, obviously, ultimately, defeating the baddies.

Beauty

Our heroine.  Not your stereotypical soft-sap of a love interest but a feisty fighter against oppression.  The object of both Jack and the Prince’s affections, but not easily won.  She’s feisty.  Needs to be able to belt out power ballads, deliver whiplash-smart wisecracks and fight all evil.  Did we mention that she’s feisty?

Prince Charming

Needs no explanation, surely.  The archetypal arrogant aristocrat, whose amazing balls are on everyone’s lips.  Starts as a baddie (ally to King/Queen Rat) and rival to Jack for Beauty’s affections but, eventually, sees the light and joins the powers of goodness – via a Taylor Swift anthem.

Widow Twankey (from ‘Aladdin’)

There is nothing like a dame and this show needs a quintuple threat: able to sing a bit, dance a bit, flirt with Dads a lot, banter with Muddles and perform physically demanding comedy with the aplomb of a silent screen siren.  And there will be a lot of physical stuff, much of it to be developed in rehearsal…

Muddles (from ‘Snow White’)

As with Twankey, we need that quintuple threat, but with a few subtle differences.  Forget the Dads, the kids need to love Muddles.  Lots of audience interaction, physical comedy and, wait for it, the “we’re back in Kansas, Toto” song sheet at the end.

Baron Hardup (from ‘Cinderella’)

Beauty’s Dad.  On the surface, a bit of a duffer, Twankey’s reluctant love interest and a plot device to launch Jack into the MegaGame to save the Pantoverse.  However, once he meets his evil Mega-created avatar Barup Hardon (a French count), the mouse roars.  The two have to engage in an epic one-on-one battle that’s the culmination of the ‘good vs evil’ plot.  Spoiler alert: Baron Hardup and Barup Hardon are played by the same actor.

Fairy

A generic ‘good’ deity, and the narrator of our tale.  Sets the scene upfront, makes sense of the plot as we go along (not an easy task!), and acts as a confidante and mentor to Jack.  Has to sing but not necessarily dance, and alternates between rhyming couplets and off-the-cuff vernacular.

King / Queen Rat (from ‘Dick Whittington’)

Guess what, the baddie!  The CEO of MegaCorp, the evil global organisation that has kidnapped our favourite panto characters from the beloved Pantoverse and trapped them in the MegaGame.  Has to relish boos and hisses, rap like a rodent Dr. Dre and converse convincingly with a pre-recorded hologram.

The Glitch

King/Queen Rat’s sidekick.  Loyal, eager, but not too bright.  Engages in double-act banter, playing the Laurel to Rat’s Hardy.  Pops up periodically, in various disguises, to cause trouble for our heroes, before converting to good at the end and joining Muddles for the traditional song sheet routine.  Oh yes, he does!

The Giant

A pre-recorded hologram, who appears in a couple of scenes.  The ultimate controller of the evil MegaCorp and so King/Queen Rat’s line manager.

Ensemble

We need at least six multi-talented performers to sing, dance and play various roles.  Indeed, the Chorus will have as much stage time, if not more, than some of the principals.  These are not background roles!  The Chorus will need to bring to life ‘old panto’ Villagers, Fortnite dancers, panto baddies (Abanazar, Fleshcreep, Captain Hook), panto goodies (Robinson Crusoe, Peter Pan, Robin Hood) and other random panto characters (Mother Goose, Old King Cole, Puss in Boots).  Plus a trio of the Chorus will get to sing and dance as the three little pigs in the ‘Porkie Passage’ scene.  Ham at is highest!

If you can’t make the auditions on the 24th July, don’t worry; contact me on nigelc@teddingtontheatreclub.org.uk and we’ll make alternative arrangements for you. Likewise, if you any questions about any role in the show – be it onstage or off. Rehearsals will start very gradually in August - working around cast holidays – but then ramp up from September onwards.