Reading & Auditions
Swan Auditions
Readings and auditions take place at the Swan Theatre. Readings are open to all, members and non-members alike, and provide an excellent opportunity for members to introduce their friends to The Swan and all that we do.
Following a play reading, audition pieces are given out. There are usually 2 audition dates, however if you are unable to make either date you may be able to arrange an alternative with the Director. Auditions are relaxed and fun and rarely involve the learning of an audition piece, although familiarity with it and some characterisation are expected. You will be informed as soon as possible if you have been successful in securing a part, usually once the whole play is cast.
It is not Swan policy to telephone people and invite them to audition so, if you would like to be in a show, please do come along to the reading and the auditions.
The rehearsal period is approximately 8 weeks of 2-3 rehearsals per week, although this may increase over the 2 weeks and the weekend preceding performance.
Home, I'm Darling by Laura Wade, the Swan Theatre Production for July 2026
If you are unable to attend the reading or auditions, but would like to be considered for a part, please let me know, so that alternative arrangements can be made.
Home I’m Darling is a play about ‘sex, gender roles, rebellion and cake’. As with most, if not all, of Laura Wade’s plays it doesn’t fit neatly into a genre but is both funny and dramatic. Set in the modern day it focuses on a couple who decide to live a 1950s lifestyle – and who really go for it. The play is about the effect this has on their relationship and on others.
Casting:
The characters in the play are as follows (The ages are a rough guide but I’m not too concerned as long as they are believable)
Judy (30s-40s)
Judy is the heart of this play. She loves the nostalgia of the 1950s and has arranged her life to resemble that of the era in minute detail. Her aim is to take on all the 1950s values and to become an ideal housewife while keeping the modern world at arm’s length.
Jonny (30s-40s)
Judy’s husband, who willingly dives into the 1950s experiment. He enjoys having a domestic goddess waiting for him when he gets home from work – but underneath he questions his contentment.
Fran (30s-40s)
Judy’s best friend. She and her husband, Marcus, love the 1950s vintage style but only as a hobby and a novelty. She is a little in awe of Judy’s total commitment to the 50s but not convinced she can totally commit to it – with all it entails for her career and status.
Marcus (40s-50s)
Marcus loves the idea of having his own domestic goddess at home. He is very comfortable in the 50s – he is a good jive dancer and perhaps prefers the 1950s gender roles to those of the present day.
Sylvia (60s-70s)
Judy’s mother. Sylvia was a young child in the 50s and a keen supporter of the feminist movement in the 70s and 80s. She loves her daughter but doesn’t understand how she can yearn for the 1950s when she wasn’t even alive then.
Alex (f) 20s-40s
Jonny’s ambitious manager at the estate agency. She is both fascinated and bewildered but the couple’s way of life. She brings a more critical eye to the whole project
Please come along to the reading. If you can’t make either date or would like to contact me beforehand to discuss further, please email jude.whitestop@btinternet.com.
I look forward to seeing you at the reading.
Judith Payne, Director