Molière's seminal farce about a man so determined to marry a lady who will reflect well on him that he plots to indoctrinate his young ward as an ideal bride. Such schemes go awry very soon...
Director: Miriam Nice
Producer: Liz O'Donovan
Social read-through:
8pm Thursday 20th February 2025
An opportunity to meet the director, members of the group and get to know the plot before auditioning.
Auditions:
8pm Monday 24th February 2025
All are welcome to audition.
If you would like to audition please learn (or bring with you to read) a short speech or poem of your choosing.
Audition pieces should be no more than 1 page or 1-2 minutes long.
If you can't find anything or decide to join us on the day we will have some speeches avaliable for you to borrow.
Auditions will take place at St Mary Magdalene Hall on Trinity Road, Wandsworth Common.
Casting is open to actors of any gender identity, while character genders will remain as written.
See character genders labeled below in brackets.
Age ranges are flexible and based on character appearance rather than exact age.
The director would like to encourage everyone to audition with an open mind, as casting can sometimes lead to exciting and unexpected possibilities. We'd love to see what you could bring to the production!
Characters:
Arnolphe (M) age: 35 - 70 wealthy middle-aged man, also goes by the grand name of Monsieur de la Souche. Lead role in the production.
Agnès (F) age: 19 - 30 Arnolphe's young female ward
Alain (M) age: 20 - 70 a peasant who is one of Arnolphe's servants, married to Georgette
Georgette (F) age: 20 - 70 a peasant who is another of Arnolphe's servants, married to Alain
Chrysalde (M) age: 25 - 70 one of Arnolphe's friends
Horace (M) age: 19 - 30 a young man in love with Agnès
Oronte (M) age: 35 - 70 another friend of Arnolphe's, and father of Horace
Enrique (M) age: 35 - 70 Chrysalde's brother-in-law, and father of Agnès
Notary (M or F) age: 35 - 70 official, registrar/lawyer who is involved in arranging marriages etc.
Production Dates:
7:30pm Thursday 15th May 2025
7:30pm Friday 16th May 2025
7:30pm Saturday 17th May 2025
doors open 7:00pm
Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/magdaleneplayers
If you are interested in a non-acting role and would like to be part of the production team please get in touch by emailing us
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Cast:
| Arnolphe | Liam Wood |
| Agnès | Alena Wikeley |
| Alain | Arabella Gordan |
| Georgette | Holly Betsworth |
| Chrysalde | Simon Brumfit |
| Horace | Alexandra Bent |
| Oronte & Coffee Boy | Karen Willemsen |
| Enrique | David Cooper |
| Notary | Nick Davidson |
NODA Review:
By Des Wilby (Regional Representative, NODA London District)
Friday 16th May 2025
I was delighted to attend an excellent production of The Seagull last year and, at that time, warmly welcome
the Magdalene Players to NODA London District 5. As a result of that initial visit, and its success, I was greatly
looking forward to attending their Spring 2025 production of Molière’s The School for Wives. First staged in
Paris in 1662, it is quite astounding how accessible the bold themes and penetrating insights found within this
work remain—resonating with modern audiences some 350+ years later.
The School for Wives centres around a wealthy businessman named Arnolphe, who generally disdains women
and is intensely paranoid about marrying someone who will cheat on him and make a fool of him. His solution
is to buy a young girl named Agnès from a destitute woman and promptly send her to a convent. There, she is
to be raised as the perfect future wife—naïve, simple, and ignorant of the real world. When Agnès reaches
marrying age, her guardian (who has changed his name to Monsieur de la Souche to sound more noble) moves
her into one of his houses in secret preparation for their wedding, keeping her imprisoned and isolated from
outside influences. However, upon returning home from a trip, he soon discovers that Agnès has been
receiving amorous visits from Horace, the young son of his friend Oronte. Unbeknownst to Horace, Arnolphe is
actually the dastardly Monsieur de la Souche, and he unknowingly confides in him about his love for Agnès and
his plan to rescue her from incarceration. As the story unfolds, the sheer absurdity of the situation becomes
ever more hilarious—but how will things end?
Miriam Nice (Director) should be incredibly proud given all her time, effort, and lost sleep that must have gone
into this production. The School for Wives is laced with quick-witted and fast-paced comedy that demands an
extremely capable cast if it’s to be performed well. The selection here certainly didn’t disappoint. The
challenging dialogue, entirely in verse, was clearly understandable and full of emotion and nuance. The set was
well thought-out and uncluttered. A downstairs room with stairs and a front door was simple but effective.
Using the front apron for the coffee shop/village square was a good idea and resulted in no set changes to
delay the action. All characters were realistic and believable. This was a hugely entertaining and thoroughly
absorbing piece of theatre that quickly drew the audience in and fully warrants recognition.
Liz O’Donovan (Producer) must also have committed a huge amount of time and effort to this production.
Again, it must have been pleasing to see all that hard work come together so well.
Liam Wood was nothing short of outstanding as leading man Arnolphe, whose paranoia, insecurity, and overly
controlling traits were laid bare for all to witness. Liam capably anchored the entire production—and
cast—with his presence, conveying a mass of increasingly turbulent emotions while maintaining a dark comedic
edge. His facial expressions, as he saw all his plans and efforts crash around him, were priceless, and his timing
was perfect for this kind of comedy.
Alexandra Bent was simply a joy and delight to watch as Agnès, the once-young girl who had now blossomed
into adulthood. Alexandra perfectly displayed an initial awkward naivety and vacancy, while charming the
audience with the sweet transformation from shy innocent to a knowing woman in love. Despite the deliberate
years of social and intellectual deprivation, it was heart-warming to see that Agnès actually possessed an
innate and innocent wisdom that completely disarmed Arnolphe.
Alena Wikeley was fabulous as the clueless and starry-eyed Horace—perhaps not the sharpest tool in the shed,
but just as innocent and young as Agnès. This was a case of ‘love at first sight,’ and Alena ensured Horace’s
sunny exuberance shone through at every opportunity, providing a stark contrast to Arnolphe’s broody
cynicism. Alexandra and Alena brought a lovely chemistry to the stage in their respective roles, which was
compelling to witness, making the audience nostalgic for those days of mad, young love…
Arabella Gordon (Alain) and Holly Betsworth (Georgette) played Arnolphe’s two bumbling and incompetent
servants extremely well. Hired for their simplicity (and thus more easily able to help control Agnès), the pair
made for a strong comic duo, full of slapstick antics and caricature-like facial expressions.
Karen Willemsen was delightfully funny as the non-speaking Coffee Boy, whose facial expressions caused much
laughter. Karen also appeared in the role of Oronte, Horace’s father and Arnolphe’s old friend. Simon Brumfit
(Chrysalde), Nick Davidson (Notary), and David Cooper (Enrique) all added to the quality cast in their
respective performances.
Gary Goldston (Stage Manager), Carolyne Mitchell-Innes (Props), Bernard Godwin (Lighting), and Miriam Nice
(Sound) ensured things ran smoothly, with no unwanted delays or distractions occurring. A special mention
goes to Lynn Cardy and Jane Cooper, who sourced an excellent collection of costumes that greatly added to
the authenticity and overall impression.
Miriam Nice is to be further congratulated for delivering a quality programme for the audience. There were
some lovely cast and rehearsal photographs, along with the Director’s welcome and a short summary about
Molière himself. The family tree showing various relationships was definitely a welcome addition.
Let me end on an extremely positive note by congratulating everyone at the Magdalene Players and those
directly involved with The School for Wives. This was another excellent production!
Best of luck in your forthcoming shows!