Company of Wolves are looking for 2 female-identifying actors to join the ensemble company for our radical new version of JULIUS CAESAR, scheduled to premiere at Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse in March 2022 and then tour to 12 further venues across Scotland from late March to May.
Deadline for applications: 27th October 2021
Audition dates: 16th-17th November in Glasgow
Production details:
Acclaimed Scottish laboratory theatre company Company of Wolves are making a radical new ensemble version of Shakespeare’s JULIUS CAESAR.
The Director is Ewan Downie (co-artistic director of Company of Wolves), and the Associate Director is Brian Ferguson.
The show will be performed by an ensemble cast of 5 performers who will immerse us in Shakespeare’s play, creating a world on the brink of crisis, teeming with crowds and politics: a wild ride from the streets of Rome to the steps of the Capitol, from whispers in the night to outright war.
With their signature physicality, Company of Wolves breathe new life into Shakespeare’s masterpiece, exposing the thin line between trust and deceit, conspiracy and reality, civilisation and mob rule.
Our ground-breaking new take on JULIUS CAESAR will expose the raw firepower of Shakespeare’s language. Our highly skilled, close-knit ensemble of actors will make the original text feel newly fresh, accessible and visceral – merging the textual clarity and rigour achieved in Britain by the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Globe with the physical dynamism and emotional depth of the Polish laboratory theatre. We’ll inspire new and younger audiences, and challenge preconceptions of what Shakespeare can be.
JULIUS CAESAR premieres at Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse in March 2022, followed immediately by a Scotland-wide tour; both funded by Creative Scotland.
Fee is £500/week plus holiday pay, for 13 working weeks in total. Per diems will also be paid for all dates which require relocation from Glasgow, and all travel and accommodation on tour will be covered.
Actor requirements:
We are looking for 2 female performers, one with a playing age of roughly 18-25, the other with a playing age of roughly 35-45.
The basis of this production is storytelling – anyone can play anything – therefore the roles will not be cast along gender lines. If selected you will be playing one of the main roles: Caesar, Brutus, Anthony, Cassius or Casca, in addition to other parts.
We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and ethnicities, and aim to cast the show with as diverse a range of voices as possible.
Above all we are seeking performers with a love for Shakespeare, with good verse-speaking ability and vocal technique, with an open, generous, flexible and collaborative attitude, and with excellent skills in ensemble theatre making processes.
Essential:
• must be trained to degree level at a recognised drama school, or have equivalent professional experience;
• at least one professional Shakespeare production;
• a taste for experimentation: you must be comfortable with uncertainty during the rehearsal process;
• all performers MUST have a Glasgow base.
Desirable:
• at least one professional devised production;
• experience in physical theatre;
• musical/singing skills.
Interest in and/or experience of touring to different kinds of spaces throughout Scotland is also essential. The tour will visit locations across the country, including remote rural settings in the Highlands and Islands: we’ll go to a range of spaces from major regional theatres to non-theatre buildings such as village halls, community centres etc.
Restrictions permitting, we plan to hold group auditions to get a sense of applicants’ skills in devising work as a group, listening and responding to one another and thinking on their feet. Auditionees will also be seen individually, and will be asked to prepare a solo Shakespeare speech of 15-20 lines of verse for this.
To apply, please fill out this form and our accompanying Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion form:
Application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrFnStH4JKU__cWG8mAwmanOR-eCxc0m1W0Qmo_YP–Lg8QA/viewform
Equalities form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1CVdY_bFSXk017dnGrE411FCl-5ko7JSb-OWSbVEVYiY/viewform