Dad’s Army – What a Song and Dance!
AUDITIONS: SUNDAY 11 JULY 2010
(2-6pm) by appointment only.
For information contact: Marion Hayter – mldhayter@hotmail.co.uk
Dad’s Army– CHARACTER LIST (Auditions 11th July)
MALE PARTS
| Name | Playing age | Description | Voice range/song |
| Captain George Mainwaring | Middle-aged | A little pompous and self-important but brave and patriotic.The town bank manager. A grammar school boy, is somewhat intimidated by Wilson’s public school charm and poise. Served in World War 1 in France in 1919 (yes, 1919, so no combat experience). The only member of the platoon who is married, though we never see his wife, Elizabeth. | Any voice
Could You Please Oblige Us With A Bren Gun Duet with Mrs. Gray: It’s A Lovely Day Tomorrow |
| Sergeant Arthur Wilson | Middle-aged | Charming and debonair – a ladies’ man. Public school educated. Well-spoken.Is Mainwaring’s Chief Clerk at the bank. Too diffident and languid to take the lead either at the bank or in the Home Guard. Served in the First World War but we don’t know as what. Has an ‘understanding’ with Mrs. Pike | Any voice
Bless You Don’t Let’s be Beastly to the Germans. |
| Lance-Corporal Jack Jones | Early 70’s | Boundlessly enthusiastic, brave and patriotic. The town butcher. An old campaigner who served, as a boy soldier, with Kitchener in the Sudan (1896-98) as well as in the First World War. Is sweet on Mrs. Fox. | Any voice
Any Little Fish Pack Up your Troubles (with Godfrey and the audience) |
| Private Joe Walker | Any | The local ‘wide boy’. Deals in black market goods and always on the lookout for a chance to make a quick buck. A spiv. Extremely smartly dressed in civvies and in uniform. ‘Walks out’ with Edith Parish. | Any voice
The Girl who Loves A Soldier |
| Private Jock Frazer | A dour Scotsman from the isle of Barra. The town undertaker. Was a Chief Petty officer in the navy in the First World War and the traditional animosity between the services and his current lower rank account for some of his animosity towards Mainwaring. Must be able to achieve a reasonably convincing Scottish accent, which should really be western Isles. | Any voice I Loved a Lassie | |
| PrivateFrank Pike | Late teens/early 20’s | A mummy’s boy who is mollycoddled by his mother but is starting to branch out on his own. Works in the bank with Mainwaring and Wilson. Is sweet on Ivy Samways. | Any voice
You Are My Sunshine (duet with Ivy Samways) |
| Private Charles Godfrey | 60+ | Genteel, polite, obliging. Well-spoken. A proper old-fashioned gentleman. Lives with his sister, Dolly. Served in World War 1 in the infantry. Now retired after 35 years in gentlemen’s outfitting. | Any voice
Pack up Your Troubles (with Jones and the audience) |
| German U-boatCaptain | 35+ | Superior, supercilious, sly, cunning, intelligent. Must be able to achieve a reasonable German accent. | Any voice
I Love Louisa |
| ARP WardenWilliam Hodges | Any | Very self-important and bombastic.Revels in the authority his role as ARP warden gives him. Antagonistic towards Mainwaring. Is the town greengrocer. Only in Act III. Can be in the platoon in Acts I and II. | Non-singing |
| The VergerMauriceYeatman | Any | A weak man, sycophantic to the vicar. Enjoys telling tales on Mainwaring. Only in Act III. Can be in the platoon in Acts i and II. | Non-singing |
| The Colonel | 40+ | Self-assured, educated, fair. We hear his voice on the telephone and he has one scene at the end of Act III. Can be in the platoon for the rest. | Non-singing |
| German U-boatcrew members | Any | Ordinary German blokes. Only in Act III. Can be in the platoon for Acts I and II. | Bier! Bier! (to the tune‘Drink! Drink!’) |
FEMALE PARTS
| Name | Playingage | Description | Voice range/song |
| Mrs. Fiona Gray | 30s+ | A lady of great charm and poise, very neatly dressed. Mainwaring is very impressed by her. | It’s A Lovely Day Tomorrow(duet with Mainwaring) |
| Mrs. Fox | 40s+ | A goodhearted, down-to-earth widow who likes a laugh. Is Jones’s lady friend. | No featured song |
| Edith Parish | 20s/30s | A brash, blonde, forthcoming Cockney. Walks out with Walker. A cinema usherette. Mainwaring finds her rather common. | I’m Going To Get Lit Up |
| Mavis Pike | 40s | Private Pike’s mother. Fusses over him now that she is a widow but is a good sort. Has an ‘understanding’ with Sgt. Wilson. | Any voice
There’s Something About A Soldier |
| Ivy Samways | 20s | A very quiet, retiring girl, so quiet as to be barely audible most of the time.Sweet natured. | Any voice
You Are my Sunshine (duet with Pike) |
| Miss Ironside | Any | A strong, good-natured girl from the Gaslight And Coke Company. Frazer is very taken with her. | No featured song |
NB All of the above ladies are also featured in ‘As Time Goes By’.
Other songs to be sung by ladies not the above. A line or two of dialogue usually introduces them. A name will be created to suit the character.
|
Song |
Voice range
|
| There’ll Always Be An England | Any, but dramatic |
| Rule Britannia | Any, but dramatic |
| Sing as We Go | Any |
| We’ll Meet Again | Any |
| (There’ll Be) Bluebirds Over | Any, but dramatic |
| Goodnight Sweetheart | Any |
Other songs to be sung by either men or women:
Roll Out The Barrel
Run Rabbit Run
Hey Little Hen
Mairzy Doats – jazz version, arr. PK Sadler
Plus : One verse of There’ll Always Be An England for a gentleman
Music rehearsals – every Tuesday from 7:45 – 10pm at Lingfield Hall.