Based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni
With popular songs from the era and Grant Olding
Director Sally Broatch
Sally has directed numerous musicals and plays in the Ipswich area. With her company “Paper Lantern” she has directed shows at The Headgate such as The Graduate, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Crucible, and most recently Liaison Dangereuse.
Assistant to the Director TBC
Production Week 5th to 11th October 2025 (two shows on Saturday 11th)
Rehearsals Monday and Wednesday evenings starting 14th July
Read through Monday 5th May at 4pm at The Headgate
Audition workshops Scheduled for Sunday 1st June 10am – 5pm, Monday 2nd June 7-10pm. More details will be available nearer the date.
Synopsis
One Man, Two Guvnors is a rip roaring comedy adapted by Richard Bean from the Italian 1742 commedia dell’arte style play written by Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni.
Set in 1963 Brighton we follow Francis Henshall who has unwittingly become employed by two governors, Roscoe Crabbe, a gangster and Stanley Stubbers, a toff! Francis tries desperately hard to keep the two employees at bay with hilarious results.
To make things even more confusing Roscoe is actually his sister Rachel in disguise. Roscoe had previously been killed by Rachel’s boyfriend, the one and only Stanley Stubbers!
Adding to Francis’ complicated life along comes the local gangster Charlie ‘The Duck’, who has arranged an engagement between his daughter Pauline and Roscoe, but Pauline wants to marry Alan, an actor!!
What follows is total mayhem. With Francis trying and failing to serve his two governors, all he really wants in life is Dolly, Charlie’s secretary and Fish and Chips…Not necessarily in that order!
Character Description/Skills
| ROLE | PLAYING AGE | DESCRIPTION | SPECIFIC SKILLS NEEDED |
| Charlie ‘the Duck’ Clench | 50’s | London accent. A tough gang leader / boss | Cockney accent/ singing |
| Pauline Clench | 18/ early 20’s | Charlie’s daughter. Pretty, naïve and girly. Engaged to Roscoe but wants to marry Alan! | Cockney accent/ singing |
| Harry Dangle | 60’s | Crooked Solicitor, pretends to be posh! A right show off! | Posh London accent/ singing |
| Alan Dangle | 20’s | Harry’s son and Pauline’s boyfriend. An “Actor” Very Theatrical and passionate! | RSP accent/singing |
| Dolly | 30’s | Charlie’s secretary and Francis’s love interest! She’s very attractive, vivacious and smart. | Needs to be able to sing and role requires good comic timing and strong stage presence and comfortable breaking the fourth wall. |
| Lloyd Boateng | 50’s | Jamaican gangster friend to Charlie. He is loyal to the gang. Was a chef and is tough as he has had some time at her majesty’s pleasure! | Cockney accent/singing |
| Rachel Crabbe | Mid 20’s | Rachel is the twin sister of the gangster Roscoe Crabb who is engaged as a wedding of convenience to Pauline. She is secretly in love with Stanley Stubbers! | Cockney accent/singing. Needs to be able to successfully play her brother Roscoe. |
| Stanley Stubbers | Mid 20’s | Stanley is on the run from the police. He is in love with Rachel and employs Francis to help him while he waits to be reunited with her. | Home counties accent/singing. |
| Francis Henshall | 30’s/early 40’s | Roscoe and Rachel’s minder/servant. He is always hungry and will do anything to make money! Consequently he ends up working for Rachel and Stanley at the same time and creates havoc keeping the two masters apart! | Needs to be comfortable with improvisation and breaking the fourth wall. Excellent comic timing and stage presence. High energy part, Francis is seldom off stage. Happy to perform physical comedy. |
| Ensemble x 4 | Various | To play waiters/ porters | Requires multi-rolling and physical comedy. |
Further details on the production and how to register your interest will be available nearer to the date of auditions.