FLASHBANG

A play by James Lewis

Directed by David Lester and produced by Drama Mavericks CIC

Performance dates: Last week in February and first week in March 2027

Drama Mavericks CIC is casting four professional actors for a new Norwich-based production of James Lewis’s acclaimed play Flashbang, directed by David Lester, with a minimum of five performances planned across Norwich and surrounding venues. This follows the recent acclaimed UK tour of this new play by The Proforca Theatre Company.

The production is being developed on a fully transparent profit-share basis. All agreed production costs and expenses will be openly accounted for, and any final production surplus will be shared between the participating actors, director/producer, technician and Drama Mavericks CIC under a pre-agreed structure. There is no guaranteed performance fee if the production does not generate a surplus, but agreed legitimate expenses will be covered in accordance with the production agreement.

We are looking for committed, collaborative professional performers who are excited by high-quality fringe theatre and who want to be genuine participants in the success of the production, with clear accounting, agreed terms from the outset and complete transparency over income, costs and any resulting surplus. Details of the profit share basis will be shared before actors commit to the roles offered.

the story

Ryan and his friends were going to be mates forever. Living their lives in the same cycle as everyone else, the same as everyone else in a town where nothing ever happened. Living for the next night out. Living for the weekend. Getting into and out of trouble.

Work. Pub. Sleep. Repeat.

Ryan and his mates have seen it all, watched it all, lived it all. The nights they wished they could remember and the ones they’d rather forget. Ryan and his friends were going to be mates forever.

But then came the night when everything changed. “Flashbang” - is a loud, explosive and gut-punching rollercoaster ride through the ties that bind five lovable best mates together and what happens to those friends when the world falls apart.

Overview

The production is aimed to be a fast-paced monologue divided between four actors with a mix of slick physical movement and storytelling. Each of the actors plays both the main character, and one of his group of friends as the story is told from one character’s point of view with multiple perspectives. As a result, we are hoping to find a team of strong, generous actors to portray the role of four loveable lads and the community around them as their lives change forever with humour, empathy and a sense of fun and emotional intelligence.

NOW CASTING

Flashbang is specifically NOT a London story. We are basing this story in Norfolk. And we are dedicated to diversity in our casting processes.

Please submit your showreel or if not available, full details of your experience and any added material which will help us in the audition process. We’d love to see graduates who would benefit from their first professional theatre gig in Norwich.

  • Male (Playing Age 21-25)

    Flashbang is primarily Ryan’s story and the actor selected for this role is the lens through which the rest of the story is told so needs to have somewhat of a ‘narrator’ quality to him.

    Ryan conveys the “every man” element of the story. Grown up in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. Still lives with his Mum, Dad & younger sister. Works in a trainer shop until he grows up and makes different choices.

    The actor chosen will need to have a strong, likeable personality with strong movement skills, sense of humour and the ability to tackle difficult material with emotional intelligence and empathy. The actor should be comfortable with material relating to mental health.

  • Male (Playing Age 21-25)

    Jason is football mad - the butt of quite a lot of jokes about his dodgy left foot and his even more dodgy track record with finding a girlfriend. Hot tempered, sensitive and a bit defensive, Jason is absolutely the first person in a football team to get a yellow card for kicking off at the ref.

    The actor chosen will need to have a strong, likeable personality with strong movement skills, sense of humour and the ability to tackle difficult material with emotional intelligence and empathy. The actor should be comfortable with material relating to mental health.

    Ideally, Jason should be played by an actor with a background from the Global Majority.

  • Male (Playing Age 21-25)

    The youngest of the bunch, Andy thinks he’s a world expert on music (and can basically give you a number of different reasons why he thinks the Arctic Monkeys are rubbish and that Calvin Harris has sold himself out) - totally the wrong person to have in charge of your playlist at a party.

    Andy’s used to striking out on his own, not above keeping secrets from his mates, and deals with the issues in the play by starting fights with people who are way bigger than he is.

    The actor chosen will need to have a strong, likeable personality with strong movement skills, sense of humour and the ability to tackle difficult material with emotional intelligence and empathy. The actor should be comfortable with material relating to mental health.

  • Male (Playing Age 21-25)

    Part Timelord, Part Bez from the Happy Mondays, Deano has achieved legendary status amongst his mates for being the life and soul of the party. If there’s ever been a money-making scheme or a night which has ended up with carnage and somebody ending up gaffer taped to a lamp post wearing a sombrero, then he’s probably at the heart of it.

    There’s a wisdom which Deano has which transcends space and time, if you look hard enough. The fact he idolises his older brother and was that one kid that everyone was always getting himself into trouble never really went away as he got older. And then there was the day that Gandalf the Goat turned up on his doorstep...

    The actor chosen will need to have exceptional comic timing with strong movement skills, sense of humour and the ability to tackle difficult material with emotional intelligence and empathy. The actor should be comfortable with material relating to mental health.

    Deano has a solo section in the show which should mean that the actor is comfortable telling a story (which may or may not be true) and have very strong adlib / improv skills.

TECHNICIAN

We are also seeking a technician for this production who will also be a partner in the profit share/surplus agreement.

AUDITIONS

Auditions by appointment from 21 September. Rehearsals will be held from mid October at St Mary Magalene Church Hall on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Please submit your interest by email initially to info@dramamavericks.co.uk