Hello Friends of the Players
I hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine—it’s only a couple of degrees warmer in Marbella than it is here in Letchworth!
For those who saw Haywire last week, perhaps Alec should have considered holidaying at home after all.
The show was warmly received, with glowing feedback on both the production’s quality and the impressive performance of the Little Theatre (Kincaid Hall) air conditioning.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came along and helped make each night a joy.
Speaking of the performing arts, don’t miss two exciting events coming up at the Settlement:Live Comedy – One Night Only: Saturday 19th July, featuring the legendary Arthur Smith.Settlement Sessions – Elizabeth & Jameson: Friday 11th July, offering a beautiful blend of traditional and modern folk music.
We’re also thrilled to begin announcing our 2025–2026 season. It promises to be a bold and technically ambitious line-up, full of theatrical intrigue. Be sure to check out the audition notice for Rules for Living—it’s going to be a fascinating production. |
Audition Notice for Rules for Living by Sam Holcroft.
Auditions
Wednesday 2nd July – 8pm
Sunday 6th July – 11am
Both auditions in the Kincaid hall, also known as The Little Theatre
Please contact James if you would like to audition but cannot make the above dates.
James Barnard: barnard.james@gmail.com
Performances 13-15 November 2025
Dress Rehearsal 12 November 2025
Technical Rehearsal 9 November 2025
Rehearsals Monday and Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons (a couple of Sunday evenings when hall is not free in the day)
Rules for Living was first performed at the National Theatre in 2015. Set at Christmas time, Sam Holcroft’s play covers themes of family dynamics and dysfunction, and wider and societal expectations, as Edith and Francis’s grown-up sons, and their partners try to navigate the stress of the occasion.
Imagine Alan Ayckbourn’s relationship comedies, given a modern, psychological twist as the family try to use cognitive therapy to get them through a Christmas lunch nobody is really looking forward to. Each movement, gesture and vocal tic is dictated by the play’s defined “rules” which the characters must follow to survive the experience.
Each character’s rules are outlined below – as you’d expect, they are compelled to do the things they need rules for *a lot*.
Characters
• Matthew: Playing age: Late twenties to late thirties. Partner of Carrie. Brother of Adam. Son of Edith and Francis. Amiable, accommodating, but neurotic, he feels in his brother’s shadow and disregarded by his father. His “Rule” is that he must sit and eat to tell a lie.
• Carrie: Playing age: Late twenties to mid-thirties. Girlfriend of Matthew. A trained actress, she is nonetheless hugely self-conscious in day-to-day life. Her “Rule” is that she must stand and dance (to varying degrees of success) to tell a joke.
• Sheena: Playing age: Mid-thirties to mid-forties. Married to Adam. Outwardly calm and organised, she is increasingly unsure of her marriage. Mother to Emma. Her rule is that she must drink to criticise.
• Adam: Playing age: forties. Married, not entirely happily, to Sheena. Father to Emma. Son of Edith and Francis. Outwardly professionally successful, he is secretly envious of his brother and cowed by his previously domineering father. His rule is that he must put on various exaggerated accents to mock his family.
• Edith: Playing age: sixties / seventies. Married to wheelchair-bound Francis, mother of Adam and Matthew, grandmother to Emma. She is desperate for this family Christmas to be a success and struggles to cope with any deviations to the routine. Her “Rule” is that she must clean the room and self-medicate to keep calm.
• Francis: Playing age: seventies. Married to Edith, father to Adam and Matthew, grandfather to Emma. Post-stroke, he has no coherent lines as he is almost mute and confined to a wheelchair, a far cry from the domineering presence the others are used to. His lack of verbal ability is made up for by his facial expressions and stage presence.
• Emma: Scripted as 14, we will age her up, with a playing age of a reasonably convincing 16. Daughter of Adam and Sheena, granddaughter of Edith and Francis. She has depression and anxiety, and the state of her mental health preoccupies the others, to varying degrees – even if she is, perhaps, not the person we should be most concerned with!
The play takes place entirely within Edith and Francis’s kitchen-diner. It is divided into two Acts, with smaller “scenes” within them. Each Act takes place in real time. There are no scene-changes. The “Rules” will be projected to the audience, so they understand and remember why the characters are behaving the way they are at all times.
The rehearsal process will require a lot of hard work, in a fun, supportive environment. The script is as significant in terms of what the characters say as what they don’t or can’t say. I’m looking for committed actors who are prepared to step slightly outside their comfort zone and enjoy the zany yet truthful commentary on relationships this play presents.
James Barnard.
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