Hay Fever
by Boerne Community Theatre

Jul. 23 - Jul. 24 (2017)

Hoping for a quiet weekend in the English country with some guests, David Bliss, a novelist and his wife Judith, a retired actress, find that an impossible dream when their high-spirited children Simon and Sorel appear with guests of their own. As the guests arrive, it becomes clear that it is not them who will be the problem, but the family themselves. A house full of drama waits to be ignited as misunderstandings and tempers flare.  With Judith's new flame and David's newest literary 'inspiration' keeping company as the children follow suit, the Bliss family lives up to its name as the 'quiet weekend' comes to an exhausting and hilarious finale worthy of Feydeau. Set in 1920’s England, Hay Fever provides a shrewd, farcical look at a dysfunctional family oblivious to their ill-mannered behavior.

Directed by Keisha McFerrin.

 

Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Best described as a cross between high farce and a comedy of manners, the play is set in an English country house in the 1920s, and deals with the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish behaviour when they each invite a guest to spend the weekend. The self-centred behaviour of the hosts finally drives their guests to flee while the Blisses are so engaged in a family row that they do not notice their guests' furtive departure.

    -- Wikipedia

Sunday, July 23 & Monday, July 24, both at 7 pm
Production/Performance Dates: September 8 - 23, 2017

 
Characters Needed: 
  • Sorel Bliss - 21-32 years old. Sorel is Judith and David Bliss's daughter. Sorel and her brother come from money, but they are siblings as we know them: fighting one minute, and best buddies the next.
  • Simon Bliss - 21-32 years old. Simon is Judith and David Bliss's son. He loves to rib his sister.
  • Clara - Over 30 - under 70. Clara is the Bliss family maid. She's a bit rough around the edges.
  • Judith Bliss - 45-58 years old. Judith is a retired English actress. She misses her younger years, and is looking for someone to tell her she's still beautiful and desireable.
  • David Bliss - 45-58 years old. David is a novelist who is looking for his next muse. He, like Judith, seems to be in a bit of a mid-life crisis.
  • Sandy Tyrell - 25-32 years old. Sandy is the young man Judith invites for the weekend. He's a stud, and he's enamoured with Judith.
  • Myrna Arundel - 35-45 years old. Myrna is Simon's weekend guest. She doesn't really want to spend time with Simon, but wants to meet David.
  • Richard Greatham - 35-55 years old Richard is a proper English diplomat, and Sorel's weekend guest. He's a bit stiff, but likeable.
  • Jackie Coryton - 21-32 years old. David's weekend guest. She's kind of a good-hearted ditz.
Location: 907 E. Blanco Rd., Boerne, Texas, 78006
Our Website: www.boernetheatre.org
Contact/More Information: Auditions consist of cold readings from the script.  No assigned audition times, just come a few minutes before 7pm to fill out forms.  For  more information, contact Patty Loftis, BCT Artistic Director, at 210-378-4562 or plilllnd@gvtc.com

 

 

[poster for the London production at the Noël Coward Theatre via ATGTickets.com]