Five great plays for large, diverse casts
Friday, December 1, 2023
In each issue of D&T, we bring you five suggested plays for studying or mounting with your students. In this edition we look at plays that cater for large, diverse casts, all of which are published in The Big House Anthology from Methuen Drama.
Phoenix Rising by Andrew Day
Cast: 17–19, mixed
Synopsis: Phoenix Rising follows the first steps of 18-year-old Callum leaving care – steps that lead straight into poverty, bad company and the constant attacks of his worst enemy: himself. Out on the track he is untouchable; no one can get near him. But when his wings start to fail him, he will have to face his demons. Andrew Day's visceral and compelling drama will leave you with some serious questions about the soaring failures of our modern society.
Why it's great for large, diverse casts: Callum is at a juncture of his life where he is in contact with several worlds. The large cast of characters from different circumstances allows you to celebrate the specificities of the group you are working with. Alongside gritty dialogue, there is much potential for surreal physical sequences, which open the door for devising opportunities if desired. The cast can be decreased and increased easily by multi-roling.
Knife Edge by David Watson
Cast: 17, mixed
Synopsis: Knife Edge is a play about fear, food and family that begins with a murder and ends with a feast. A girl with no name, hungry for life, fights to tell her own story. Guided (and interrupted) by a maverick and mutating group of chorus characters, writer David Watson invites you into a darkly comic world where you join a girl's journey of discovery into her father's life after his violent death.
Why it's great for large, diverse casts: Developed at The Big House, a company that engages young people with the odds stacked against them, this gives an authentic insight into where anger comes from. The funny and shape-shifting chorus is a brilliant tool for large casts, allowing the number of characters to be adapted according to the group, and each character according to the individual.
Bullet Tongue Reloaded by Andrew Day
Cast: 16, mixed
Synopsis: Plunge into the underworld of county lines drug dealing, where teenagers fight for status, wealth, love, survival and the simple right to be heard. In Andrew Day's critically-acclaimed, sold-out show Bullet Tongue Reloaded, we meet Bumper – sharp-witted and quick-tongued – fighting to prove herself on the roads of London and Eastbourne. Rebelling against the expectations set out for her, she challenges what is expected, what is ‘just’ and what we're told.
Why it's great for large, diverse casts: This play is set in a London that many people never see and that theatre seldom tells. It's raw, it's authentic, and will provide a resource for many underrepresented actors. Its perspective on the media and criminal justice system force us to think carefully about the prejudices entrenched within the information we receive. As with all TBH scripts, there are many characters that are of variable gender and ages and there is scope for adapting the language according to local slang.
The Ballad of Corona V (The Remix) by David Watson
Cast: 19 – 24, mixed
Synopsis: Fake news and true stories, The Ballad of Corona V (The Remix) is a freewheeling, angry, moving and musical response to the bewildering times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Watson's bold, surrealist satire was written as an entirely socially distanced production and is a powerful time capsule to a period that we seem in a rush to forget.
Why it's great for large, diverse casts: This play inverts, complicates and rages at the prevailing accounts of the pandemic, placing the concerns of the disenfranchised at its core. Isolation is not reserved for those who are locked in; Watson sheds light on injustices that were happening before and some that are ongoing. Forget baking, dog walks and stockpiling ingredients, this touches on food banks, conspiracy theories and the Black Lives Matter movement. The self-contained nature of the scenes allows for a large cast with complex scheduling needs.
Redemption by James Meteyard
Cast: 16, mixed
Synopsis: We follow explosive Maz and her truth-telling bars as she rails at the world and runs from a life in care. Then she meets Tayo, a gentle soul with silky smooth vocals, seeking a place to belong. He's soul, she's grime and the fusion is sublime. Together they take the first steps of their musical career, but can they hold onto each other when promised the bright lights of success? Redemption is a powerful new play-with-music exploring family and forgiveness.
Why it's great for large, diverse casts: The rhythmical form of this play and its powerful use of rap and song will engage and excite the most daunted and inexperienced of casts. The wide range of characters – including a music manager, a social worker, a corrupt care home worker, a repentant mother and a funny but loyal friend – suit a range of personalities and ages. Redemption highlights the pressing issue of mental health struggles in young black men.
All of these plays can be found in The Big House Anthology: Diverse Plays for Diverse Casts.
