The Accrington Pals
Launch Night & Read-Through: 15th July
Auditions: 20th & 22nd July
Rehearsals: Mondays & Wednesdays
Show Dates: 10th – 14th November
Audition pieces will be provided after the launch night read-through.
Character List
May: late 20s – late 30s
May is the central female character. She runs a fruit and vegetable stall and is fiercely independent, practical and emotionally guarded. She dislikes the romantic ideas surrounding war and is sceptical about the men joining the army. Although she appears tough and sharp-tongued, she deeply cares for her second-cousin Tom and struggles to express her feelings for him; there is clearly a strong attraction between them, but their differences (as seen by May) keep them apart. Throughout the play, May represents strength and survival on the home front, but also loneliness and emotional repression.
Tom: 19 – 20s
Tom is May’s lodger and second cousin, as well as one of the young men who volunteers for the Accrington Pals. He is sensitive, artistic and optimistic about the war at first. Tom believes the war might bring people together and create a fairer society – one that is based on ‘the free exchange of skills’. However, his innocence gradually fades as he experiences the brutal reality of the trenches. Tom represents the tragic loss of youthful idealism caused by World War I.
Ralph: 20s – mid 30s
Ralph is Tom’s close friend and Eva’s boyfriend. He is confident, lively and more outgoing than Tom, often full of energy and humour. Ralph initially enjoys the excitement and camaraderie of military life, but the war eventually changes him deeply. His relationship with Eva shows a softer and more caring side to his personality. Ralph represents ordinary young men swept into war by patriotism and social pressure.
Eva: 19 – 20s
Eva is Ralph’s sweetheart, who comes to live and work with May while the men are away. She is self-possessed and emotionally intelligent. Compared to May, Eva is gentler and more openly affectionate, but she is also quietly strong and determined. As the men leave for war, Eva becomes increasingly independent and supportive of the women around her. She challenges traditional expectations of women and adapts to changing wartime roles.
Sarah: mid 20s – mid 30s
Sarah is a married mill worker who is lively and outspoken. We never see her husband, but Sarah gives us the vivid impression of a bullish, highly sexed man. She openly talks about sexuality and relationships, which contrasts with May’s reserved personality. Sarah often brings humour and energy to the play, but beneath her confidence she still faces the fear and uncertainty caused by the war.
Bertha: 18 – 20s
Bertha is a mill girl who later becomes a tram conductress, as women begin to occupy traditional male roles. She is impressionable and less experienced than the other women. She often follows Sarah’s lead and represents youthful innocence and naivety. As the play progresses, Bertha becomes more aware of the harsh realities of war and adulthood. Her character helps show how the conflict affects ordinary young women socially and emotionally.
Annie: late 30s
Annie is Arthur’s wife and Reggie’s mother. She is more traditional than some of the other women, and we often see her trying to catch and punish her son for one of his various misdemeanours. While she can be a harridan (and the butt of humour for characters like Ralph and Sarah) we get glimpses of the much warmer, freer person who she might have become. Through Annie, the audience sees the emotional strain placed on wives and mothers during wartime.
Arthur: 30s
Arthur is Annie’s husband and Reggie’s stepfather. Deeply religious (Primitive Methodist), he insists on leading everyone in prayer in the street before the Pals depart. His marriage with Annie seems ill-matched – but he is devoted to his pigeons, especially the ironically named ‘England’s Glory’ which returns maimed and dying to Accrington from the Somme. Arthur’s experiences in the war highlight the vulnerability of everyday soldiers who were unprepared for trench warfare, and the effect this may have had on their religious beliefs.
Reggie: teens
Reggie is Annie’s son from a previous relationship. Usually in trouble with his mother for a variety of adolescent misdemeanours, Reggie lends humour and youthful energy to the play. He also reminds the audience of the families left behind by the soldiers. Reggie symbolises the next generation affected by the war and the emotional impact on children growing up during wartime.
C.S.M. Rivers: 30s – 40s
Company Sergeant Major Rivers is the most shadowy character in the play; the only true outsider. A professional soldier who trains and oversees the ‘Pals’, he is disciplined, authoritative and patriotic, strongly believing in duty and military order. Rivers contrasts with the naïve enthusiasm of the younger recruits because he understands the seriousness of war more fully. He has an air of inscrutability which differentiates his character from any other in the play.
The Flint Street Nativity
Launch Night & Read-Through: 25th August
Auditions: 1st & 3rd September
Rehearsals: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 8th Sept
Show Dates: 8th – 12th December
Titanic the Musical
Launch Night: 8th September
Auditions & Recalls: 13th & 17th September
Rehearsals: Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 21st Sept
Show Dates: 9th – 13th February