Written by Bill Naughton, the story is set in 1960s Bolton and centres around the Crompton family.
The head of the household, Rafe Crompton, is very particular in the way his house is run and his wife and four children struggle to keep to his ideals. The drama of the play revolves around an incident when the family's youngest daughter, Hilda, refuses to eat a herring for dinner and the tension this creates. The family is left with the choice of separating, with its members going in opposite directions, or to find a new way to continue together.
The Characters
Rafe Crompton- The head of the household. Although loving towards his family he is set in his ways and has strong ideas of how his household should be run.
Daisy Crompton- Rafe's wife. She is gentle and easygoing. She struggles to uphold Rafe's ideals but won't confront him about it.
Harold Crompton- The family's eldest son. Light-hearted, quick to point out problems with Rafe's ideology behind his back but not to his face.
Florence Crompton- The family's eldest daughter. Prudish. Keen to please her father. She shows little interest in her fiancee, Arthur.
HIlda Crompton- The family's youngest daughter. The only one of the Crompton children that openly rebels against Rafe. Young and vibrant.
Wilfred Crompton- The Family's youngest son. Asthmatic. He tends to team up with Harold and, like Harold, is terrified to stand up to Rafe.
Arthur- Florence's fiance. As an outsider to the family he is less under the thumb of Rafe and tries to stand up to him. He is quite matter-of-fact and unromantic towards Florence.
Betsy-Jane- The family's neighbour. She comes from a more chaotic household than the Cromptons. She borrows money off Daisy at the beginning of the play.
Audition Pieces
Rafe page 62
Arthur page 48
Florence page 30
Daisy pages 1/2
Harold pages 10 , 30/31
Wilfred pages 44/45
Hilda pages 28/29 50/51
Betsy Jane pages 4/5
Thanks for an excellent turn out at the read through.
Learning the audition pieces by heart is a great idea but use of the script is okay on this occasion. However, please try to avoid having to have your nose in the book all the time, it is difficult to get a reasonable idea of your potential performance.
Many thanks and Good Luck - David Clayton, director of Spring and Port Wine