The Winterling Audition Information
The Winterling, by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Hieronymus Glover
Assisted by Steevan Glover & Nick Haymonds
Show dates: Tuesday 22nd – Saturday 26th September 2026
AUDITIONS: 7.30pm Tuesday 5th & Thursday 7th May 2026.
Show Summary
Loyalty is dangerous when the past never stays buried.
From the award-winning writer of Jerusalem comes The Winterling. Exiled gangster Len West has fled the city and taken refuge in a derelict farmhouse on Dartmoor. Out here in the freezing wilderness, he is trying to build a strange new kingdom among the moor’s misfits. But the past refuses to stay buried.
When West’s former associate arrives from London—with an eager young recruit in tow—old debts and betrayals return to haunt him. As the night deepens and tensions rise, the group must confront a choice between two very different worlds.
With razor-sharp dialogue and dark humour, The Winterling is a gripping comic-thriller about loyalty, power and survival.
Audition Info
Auditions will be in a workshop format. There is no need to prepare anything in advance, and we will provide scenes for you to work with on the day. We’ll start by reading the section together and then work on it a few times to explore the characters.
Creativity thrives on diversity, and we welcome everyone, regardless of background or experience. The characters need to be big, animated, memorable and will be a lot of fun to play!
Please complete our online audition form to let us know your intention to audition. See the full Audition Information pack here.
Play Synopsis
Premiering in 2006, The Winterling is a darkly comic drama that blends crime thriller with rural folklore. Set in the bleak isolation of Dartmoor, the play explores the clash between urban criminal culture and the strange, almost mythic world of the English countryside.
At its heart is Len West, a gangster cast out by his former associates. His attempt to carve out a new life on the moor becomes a tense confrontation between two very different communities—one bound by criminal loyalty, the other by survival in the wild.
With its sharp dialogue and gallery of eccentric characters, The Winterling captures the uneasy humour and violence that often exist side by side in Jez Butterworth’s writing.
Dates and Commitment
REHEARSALS: Likely to be one or two weekday evenings and/or some Sunday daytimes from mid-May 2026.
TECHNICAL REHEARSAL: Sunday daytime/evening, 20th September 2026
DRESS REHEARSAL: Monday evening, 21st September 2026
SHOWS: Tuesday 22nd – Saturday 26th September 2026 (7.30 PM) (5 performances)
For more info, please contact David Stacey (Studio Theatre Manager) davidstacey.home@nullgmail.com
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