Performances 21-26 July 2025 in the Auditorium

Directed by Laurie Owen

The Prince is a comic drama, written in a blend of Shakespearean and modern language, with a range of wonderful characters. It's a play with three brilliant trans female roles, and some exciting male and cis female parts too, for a variety of ages. All of the characters, trans and cis, have to interrogate if they are truly happy, with the various responsibilities thrust upon them. For more about the story of the play, see the Act 1 summary at the bottom of this page.

 As ever at Lace Market Theatre, we encourage performers from the Global Majority to audition. The author of The Prince, Abigail Thorn, also stipulates in the script that the play should never be performed with an all-white cast. This production will be staged for the Lace Market Theatre Auditorium, and the theatre itself is unfortunately not fully wheelchair accessible.

Below, there is information about the time commitment that this show requires, and descriptions of all the roles we are looking to cast. This information will help you decide if you're able to audition, and then help you decide what roles you want to audition for.

REHEARSALS

Rehearsals start the week commencing 21st April, and will be on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights between 7:30-9:30pm. You will not be called for every rehearsal in the early stages, but as the company start to run whole acts and sequences of scenes, you will be called more frequently, and there will be some rehearsals on weekends. At the audition, everyone will be asked to write down their existing commitments, so that the directing team can start to schedule rehearsals at times that work for everyone. This will be reviewed every month or so, as we understand most people don't know all their commitments 3 months in advance.

For those interested in auditioning for HOTSPUR, HAL, JEN, SAM and DOUGLAS, you must be available to participate in two all-day stage combat training days, on 11th and 17th May. These dates might be negotiable if there are a lot of availability issues, but the trainer has already put these dates in his diary, and the directing team would like rescheduling to be done as a last resort, not as a convenience.

PERFORMANCES

Performance week is 21st-26th July. There is a performance every evening of this period, and an additional afternoon performance on the 26th. For evening performances you will be expected at the theatre from 6:30pm, to start at 7:30pm.

On 26th July, you will be expected at the theatre from 1:30pm for the afternoon performance AS WELL AS the evening performance at the usual time.

Following the evening performance on the 26th, you will be expected to help with the deconstruction of the set, and tidying up backstage.

ROLES AND AUDITION PROCESS

Auditions are on the 15th and 17th of April from 7:30pm-9:30pm. We would like to get through everyone on the 15th, and use the 17th as a backup, so please try to be available for both. Contact Laurie the director if these dates are problematic and we can find a solution.

While HOTSPUR, JEN and SAM will be played by trans women/transfeminine people in this production, the other parts may be played by anyone who suits the role description. The age ranges listed are 'playing ages', which means you may audition for a part if you believe you can pass for the age range listed, or close to it.

To get a digital copy of the audition pieces for each character, please email Laurie, the director, and feel free to ask any questions too. Printed copies of the audition pieces will also be available at the theatre,. There is no expectation to learn the audition pieces by heart, unless this will help you give your best performance. Learning by heart will not necessarily give you an advantage over performers we believe are more suited for the part.

Copies of the full play are available to be read, upstairs at Lace Market Theatre, but you unfortunately can't take these away as there are a limited number of copies. The building is usually open to visitors from 7:30pm-9:30pm on Fridays, and from 12:30pm-2pm on Saturdays. Please drop in, head upstairs to the bar, ask the person behind the desk for a script, and find a quiet corner somewhere.

Following the audition you will receive a phone call from one of the casting advisors, telling you if you have been offered a part. If you accept a part, and you are not already a member, you must fill out a membership form as soon as possible, and agree on how you will pay your membership fee with the Membership Secretary. Concessions are available and you have the option to pay your fee in instalments. Full membership is £55, concession membership is £45, and this will cover your activities at LMT until July 2026.

Here follows a list of the roles in the play, roughly in order of largest to smallest parts.

HOTSPUR

(20-25, transfeminine)

A trans woman so deep in the closet, she doesn't even know it yet. The eldest child of the Earl of NORTHUMBERLAND, and a renowned fighter. Hot tempered, dealing with a lot of internalised misogyny and unspoken pain, has a deeply buried sweet side. Hotspur is referred to as 'he' by most of the characters, but the stage directions refer to Hotspur as 'she'.

Section to prepare: pg 12 - 14, (from "Nay, put up that sword" to "And rivalled Alexander with a sword")

JEN

(18-25, transfeminine)

A young and slightly naive trans femme from the modern day. Curious, open-hearted, compassionate.

Section to prepare: Act 1 Scene 2 (pg 6-8)

SAM

(30-60, transfeminine)

A trans woman from the modern day. Highly strung, nervous, motherly.

Section to prepare: Act 1 Scene 2 (pg 6-8)

LADY KATE

(20-30, female)

A woman ahead of her time. HOTSPUR's wife. Intelligent, determined, sexually confident.

Section to prepare: pg 52-53 (from "I'm sure she loves you really" to "It is a joy, a duty, I am blessed, and yet...")

PRINCE HAL

(18-25, male)

The son of KING HENRY IV and heir to the throne. A gay man out to himself - it's an open secret to everyone else. Compassionate and clever, not a fighter.

Section to prepare: pg 12 - 14, (from "Nay, put up that sword" to "And rivalled Alexander with a sword")

NORTHUMBERLAND and KING HENRY IV

(40-70, male)

These parts are doubled (played by one actor).

Northumberland:

A mighty warrior in his day, now reaching his twilight years, and looking to secure his legacy. Father to HOTSPUR. Loving and proud.

King Henry IV:

An old lion backed into a corner. King of England and father of PRINCE HAL. Wrathful, does not accept his son's homosexuality. Quick to anger, not a great listener.

Sections to prepare:

    pg 38-39 (from "You broke away, my boy" to "I meant not to offend thy manly heart")

    AND

    pg 43-44 (from "we are accustomed" to "to show how much thou art degenerate")

WORCESTER

(40-60, male)

A powerful noble in his own right. The younger brother of Northumberland, and uncle to HOTSPUR. Wise, level-headed, practical.

Section to prepare: p80-82 (from "A letter from him!" to "By time, and I see now thou art a man.")

DOUGLAS

(30-50, male)

Warlord leader of the Scottish rebels. Macho and loving it. A bit of a meathead, but charming and witty when he wants to be.

Section to prepare: p46-48 (from "My gracious host!" to "Good luck!")

## SUMMARY OF ACT 1 (to give an impression of the play, and its characters)

SAM is a trans woman from the modern day, and has somehow become stuck wandering through The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. She has stolen a magical map from one of the plays, which shows how all of the plays interconnect. SAM discovers JEN, who is similarly stuck, rescues her from 'Julius Caesar', and brings her to 'Henry IV Part 1.' The magic map shows that at the end of 'Henry IV Part 1', there is a portal which leads to the outside world. To get to the portal, SAM explains they need to pretend to be servants, so they can fade into the background, and let the play run its course, until the portal opens.

Meanwhile, in 'Henry IV Part 1', England is at war with nearly everyone. HOTSPUR, on behalf of KING HENRY IV, has led the English armies to victory against the Scots in a battle. HOTSPUR's father NORTHUMBERLAND and her uncle WORCESTER celebrate Hotspur's victory. HOTSPUR agrees to hand over the captured Scottish leader, DOUGLAS, to PRINCE HAL, (son of KING HENRY IV). This is on the condition that PRINCE HAL can get King Henry IV, to pay off the Welsh rebels so that they will release Hotspur's brother-in-law. HOTSPUR and PRINCE HAL don't get on, because Hotspur is much more renowned in battle than Hal, even though Hal is heir to the throne.

After this, HOTSPUR asks JEN, playing a servant, to help find her sword, which has been dropped during the battle with the Scots. JEN is the only person so far who has noticed that HOTSPUR is a trans woman (even HOTSPUR hasn't noticed). When HOTSPUR shakes JEN's hand, a magical force is unleashed upon HOTSPUR, and she starts to notice that she is in a play.

LADY KATE (wife to Hotspur) on HOTSPUR's return, senses something is up, and asks HOTSPUR about her recent odd behaviour. Hotspur refuses to divulge anything, and leaves. LADY KATE vows to take more control of her life and to make her own way, outside her duties to male concerns.

Back in England, it's bad news for HOTSPUR. Hal's father, KING HENRY IV refuses to rescue Hotspur's brother-in-law. It also becomes clear that KING HENRY hugely disapproves of his son PRINCE HAL. This is partly because HOTSPUR is more impressive than HAL, but also because it is an open secret that HAL is gay. HOTSPUR and her loving father NORTHUMBERLAND, and uncle WORCESTER, following KING HENRY's refusal of the trade of hostages, decide to join forces with the Scottish and the Welsh, against KING HENRY. NORTHUMBERLAND tells HOTSPUR how proud he is to have 'him' as a son, and that he expects HOTSPUR to continue the family legacy when he eventually dies.

All the while, HOTSPUR is becoming more and more aware that she is in a play, instead of what she thought was reality, and JEN keeps talking to the Shakespeare characters, despite SAM's protestations. The characters all become confused, the world starts to break apart, and the plot of 'Henry IV Part 1' goes totally off the rails, blocking off the portal to the outside world. SAM is furious with JEN for ruining their only chance to escape.

...When the interval finishes and the curtain goes up for Act 2, there is a funeral happening for somebody called King Hamlet. Hamlet!? Oh dear. How are JEN and SAM going to fix this?

The rest of the plot is on Wikipedia, but I hope this has piqued your interest in the play.

For any more questions, please contact the director here.