01/10/2026
🎭 AUDITIONS TONIGHT 🎭
🎭 AUDITION NOTICE 🎭
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Kate Hamill adapted from the novel by Jane Austen and directed by Jess Toyne.
READING: Tuesday 29th September at 7.30pm
AUDITIONS: Thursday 1st October at 7.30pm
PERFORMANCE DATES: Saturday 9th January, Monday 11th January to Saturday 16th January at 7.30pm.
All at Chester Little Theatre.
This isn’t your grandmother’s Austen! Bold, surprising, boisterous and timely, this Pride and Prejudice for a new era explores the absurdities and thrills of finding your perfect (or imperfect) match in life.
The outspoken Lizzy Bennet is determined to never marry, despite mounting pressure from society. But can she resist love, especially when that vaguely handsome, mildly amusing and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn?!
Literature’s greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical or so full of life than it does in this effervescent adaptation. Because what turns us into greater fools than the high-stakes game of love?
CASTING:
FEMALE ROLES:
ACTOR 1 – Plays JANE, late 20s to early 30s. The eldest and most beautiful Bennet daughter. Kind, idealistic, diffident. Always tries to do the right thing; and MISS de BOURGH, Lady Catherine’s daughter, a gremlin. Probably allergic to sun. Underneath all her veils, she may be covered in scales.
ACTOR 2 – Plays LIZZY, a year or two younger than Jane. Clever, spirited; can be sharp-tongued. Gets flustered, which makes her klutzy. Prides herself on good judgment. Not especially beautiful. Very very scared of marriage, after absorbing the lessons of her parents’ marriage. (The actor playing Lizzy must not double.)
ACTOR 3 – LYDIA, 14. The youngest Bennet. Lively, prone to imitating others’ behavior and eavesdropping; and LADY CATHERINE, patrician Caesar-meets-drill sergeant.
MALE ROLES:
ACTOR 4 – Plays MR. DARCY, late 30s to 40s. One of the richest men in England. Too proper for his own good; awkward in most social contexts. Prides himself on self-control and good judgment. (The actor playing Mr. Darcy must not double.)
ACTOR 5 – Plays MR. COLLINS, a pedantic, obtuse man. The original mansplainer. Rector to Lady Catherine; WICKHAM, an unfairly handsome and charming gentleman. Probably a sociopath. Raised with Darcy; and MISS BINGLEY, a very rich, very beautiful young woman. Fancies herself witty.
ROLES OF ANY GENDER:
ACTOR 6 – Plays MR. BINGLEY, late 30s to 40s. Loves the world and the world loves him. Mr. Darcy’s particular friend. Almost literally a dog; and MARY, the third Bennet girl. Violent and dark undertones; prone to pedanticism and sulking. A dark goth Brontë character trapped in an Austen world. Coughs to get attention, or to make a point; may fancy that she is dying.
ACTOR 7 – Plays CHARLOTTE LUCAS, same age as Lizzy. A practical girl with a good sense of humor; and MR. BENNET, the patriarch of the Bennet family. Finds amusement in absurdity; often looks for respectable escape from the chaos of his family life. Can be somewhat apathetic; probably a bit depressed, under everything. Enjoys antagonizing. Disappointed in marriage.
ACTOR 8 – Plays MRS. BENNET, the matriarch of the Bennet family. Mostly a silly woman, of mean understanding and variable temper. Hypochondriac; when she’s upset, she fancies that she’s dying. The business of her life is to get her daughters married. She traumatizes her family with some regularity; and SERVANTS, all servants with lines in this production happen to be characters who are men.
Other notes: If playing another gender identity, please do not play “at” being a man or woman. Play the character, not the gender.
If you'd like any more information email director Jess Toyne at [email protected].
