Auditions

Phoebe Meryll: Mezzo. A star-struck young lady, infatuated with the ‘young and handsome’ Colonel Fairfax, a prisoner in the Tower. A little minx, she has Wilfred Shadbolt on a string, but all the while hoping that someone more eligible will come along. Strong-willed and courageous.

Wilfred Shadbolt: Bass-baritone. He is the lugubrious head jailer; an assistant tormentor of un-prepossessing appearance, who loves his job and carries out his duties conscientiously. Has been pursuing Phoebe in the hope that she will eventually accept him as a husband and is jealous of anyone who shows an interest in her. He has some of the best comic scenes in the show.

Sgt. Meryll: Bass. Phoebe’s father. Experienced and trusted old soldier in charge of a body of Yeomen. Has a great deal of sympathy for Colonel Fairfax, who twice saved his life. Hatches a plot to set him free. If discovered, it would lead to his own execution.

Colonel Fairfax: Tenor. A military hero. Falsely imprisoned on a charge of sorcery levelled by his influential kinsman and is to be executed this day. Needs to marry before he dies so that his kinsman does not inherit the estate. A hasty marriage is arranged, with a blindfolded Elsie Maynard as his bride. He escapes from his cell through a plot organised by Sgt Meryll, and impersonates Leonard Meryll, the Sgt’s son. As ‘Leonard’ he woos Elsie and she falls in love with him, while still trying to remain faithful to the vows she made to ‘Fairfax’.

Dame Carruthers: Contralto. A middle-aged spinster, God-fearing and superstitious, in charge of running the household of the Tower. Seems to have absorbed some of the tower’s granite-like qualities. Would very much like to hook up with Sgt Meryll, who tries to avoid her whenever possible.

Leonard Meryll: Tenor. A celebrated military hero – the medieval Tom Cruise of ‘Mission Impossible’. Is due to take up an appointment in the Yeomen of the Guard but joins in the plot to free Fairfax then to stay out of sight until Fairfax’s reprieve arrives.

Sir Richard Cholmondeley (Cholmeley): Baritone or Bass-baritone. Lieutenant of the Tower – commanding figure – He is a strict disciplinarian, and is determined to see Fairfax executed, even though he is sympathetic towards Fairfax’s plight. He has the power of life and death over the inhabitants of the Tower.

Elsie Maynard: Soprano. A pretty maid who arrives at the Tower with Jack Point to entertain so that they can earn money to purchase medicine for Elsie’s ill mother. She agrees to be blindfolded and marry a prisoner in return for a vast sum of money, having been assured of his immediate execution. Jack Point’s clumsy attempts to woo her are ignored. A strong sense of duty.

Jack Point: Light Baritone. A jester by profession, who had once been in the employ of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was dismissed After making a jest that wasn’t appreciated, and has not been able to get a wealthy sponsor since, so he is now making a poor living by busking in the towns. He is in love with Elsie, and considers her his ‘bride to be’, but lacks the ability to express his love, so he confides in his folly stick “Jack”, and expresses his feelings by means of jests. Elsie is not in love with him, and when at last he realises that she is lost to him, he is broken-hearted.

Kate: Lyric Soprano.  Dame Carruthers’ niece. Has been kept under her aunt’s thumb. Most important attribute is to hold the line in the quartet.

 

2nd Yeoman: Baritone – upright soldier. Supporting act to Sgt Meryll. Has a couple of lines of dialogue and a solo in Act 1.
 

1st Yeoman: Baritone – upright soldier. Has solo in Act 1 Finale.

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Speaking roles: 1st and 2nd Citizens