Audition Notice
When the Rain Stops Falling, by Andrew Bovell
Directed by Steven Adams
Sunday 27th November, 2pm
For more information, audition pieces and to book an audition slot, please contact Steven on stevenadams1969@googlemail.com.
Production Dates
7th - 11th March 2023 (6 performances with matinee on Saturday 11th March 2023)
Rehearsals
8th - 22nd January 2023 and 5th February - 6th March 2023, rehearsals will be 3 evenings per week plus Sunday afternoons (not everyone will be needed at all rehearsals)
About the Play
Warning: This production contains mentions of child abuse and references to childhood trauma, suicide and assisted suicide, dementia.
Alice Springs. 2039. A fish falls from the sky – it still smells of the sea. It’s been raining for days and Gabriel York knows something is wrong. When the Rain Stops Falling unfolds like a puzzle to be solved. Told through the interconnected stories of two families over four generations, between a prediction in London 1959 and its outcome in Australia eighty years later.
This intricate, multi-layered story explores betrayal, abandonment, destruction, forgiveness and love. Where damage to the planet serves as a metaphor for the damage inflicted from generation to generation. Until finally, as the desert is inundated with rain, one young man finds the courage to defy his legacy.
When the Rain Stops Falling is a beautiful and expansive play spanning four generations and two continents, from a claustrophobic London flat in 1959 to the windswept southern coast of Australia in 2039. All throughout 80 years of torrential rain.
It sees a series of interwoven stories come together, as seven people confront the mysteries of their past, revealing how patterns of betrayal, love and abandonment are passed on.
Andrew Bovell is best known for scripting the award-winning film Lantana, hit play Speaking In Tongues, and co-writing Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom.
“Superb... fiendishly ingenious... utterly compelling” - The Guardian
“A work of gripping mystery and emotional depth... something very special” - Daily Telegraph
“Extraordinary... grabs you by its imagination, its heartrending originality, its tragic vision” - Sunday Telegraph
BLT actively encourages auditionees from ethnic minority communities
You do not have to be a member of the company to audition, but if you are cast you must join.
Characters
Where it says *Australian accent – please don’t be put off! We are not looking for perfection, and can support you learning one. It would be handy if you could give the accent a go if you are auditioning for one of these roles.
Gabriel York (Australian Accent) -Son of Gabriel Law and Gabrielle York. Gabriel is a loner struggling through life in climate challenged 2039 Alice Springs. He feels he has achieved very little with his life. Estranged from his own mother and stepfather he has also abandoned his own son. This character has a 4-page monologue at the start of the play and then doesn’t reappear until the last scene of the play. A very important character but obviously not that large a part.
May possibly be doubled with Henry Law. Playing age - 50
Elizabeth Law (Younger) - Married to Henry Law and mother to Gabriel Law. Elizabeth is an academic and intelligent woman who feels trapped when she has an expected child. Married to Henry who she loves dearly, and worries he will leave her for another woman. Devasted when she finds out Henry’s dark secret and in turn grows cold towards their son, Gabriel. We see Younger Elizabeth in 1959 – 1968 London. Playing age - 30s/early 40s
Elizabeth Law (Older) - Married to Henry Law and mother to Gabriel Law. Elizabeth has tried to protect her son by telling him nothing bout his father. She has grown even more cold and emotionless. She has also become an alcoholic. She has made it very difficult for her son to love her. We see Older Elizabeth in 1988 London. Playing age - 56
Henry Law – Married to Elizabeth Law and Gabriel Law’s father. Henry is an academic and a deep thinker. Though he sometimes seems absent minded. He struggles with his feelings towards children and worries that he may abuse his own son. He leaves for Australia when his wife discovers his tendencies. We see Henry in 1959 – 1968 London and 1970 Australia. Please note that Henry is a paedophile. He will not be portrayed as a “creep”. This is a very nuanced role and a great challenge for the actor playing him to strike the balance of evoking sympathy and disgust. If you do not wish to play this role, you can mark this on the audition form. May possibly be doubled with Gabriel York. Playing age - Late 30s/40s.
Gabriel Law - Son of Elizabeth Law and Henry Law. Father to Gabriel York. Gabriel is an awkward young man seeking answers and some purpose for his life. He has a distant relationship with his mother who bought him up alone from the age of 7. He wants to know what happened to his father and follows his trail to Australia. There he meets Gabrielle and falls in love. We see Gabriel Law in London and the Coorong National Park, Australia in 1988. May possibly be doubled with Andrew Price. Playing age - 28
Gabrielle York (Younger) (Australian Accent) Gabrielle lives in the Coorong National Park and works in a road-house there. She longs to get away from the Coorong and start a new life somewhere else. Her parents both killed themselves after her young brother was abducted and killed. She falls in love with Gabriel as he is so different from the local men and sees him as a possible way to a new life. We see Younger Gabrielle in Australia in 1988. Playing age - 24
Gabrielle York (Older) (Australian Accent) - Married to Joe Ryan and mother to Gabriel York. Older Gabrielle lives in Adelaide with Joe Ryan. They have had a fairly happy life but she has had a difficult relationship with her son Gabriel York and he has not been in touch for 6 years. Gabrielle is suffering from confusion and early dementia or Alzheimer's disease – possibly a result of the car crash she was in in 1988. She asks Joe to help her end her own life. We see Older Gabrille in Adelaide in 2013. Playing age - 50s
Joe Ryan (Australian Accent) - Married to Gabrielle York, stepfather to Gabriel York. Joe is straight forward Australian man. Happy with his lot and very much in love with Gabrielle. He is slightly absent minded. He knows that Gabrielle cares for him but that she doesn’t love him the way she loved Gabriel. He tries not to resent this. He does his best to support Gabrielle through her illness but seeing her slipping away affects him greatly. We see Joe in Adelaide in 2013. Playing age - 50s/early 60s
Andrew Price (Australian Accent) - Gabriel York’s son. Andrew appears at the end of the play, seeking answers about his family’s past. His father abandoned him when he was 7 but he doesn’t resent him. He just wants answers. A small but very important role. We see Andrew in Alice Springs in 2039. May possibly be doubled with Gabriel Law. Playing age - 28