The Battle of Boat

Casting

‘THE DEFENDERS’ are a group of good-hearted, mostly well-behaved children. They are a bunch of incredibly different personalities which balance themselves out within the group. They are lead by the eldest, William, secondly by Frances, who is like a mother-figure to them all. They are all from working to middle-class backgrounds.

FRANCES MILLER — Age 15. Sister to William, Frances leads the group and makes the majority of the decisions. She is older than her years in terms of maturity, and ‘glues’ the group together with an almost mother-like way. She is the first of the Defenders to become actively concerned about the war and feels a sense of responsibility, almost duty, to contribute to the war effort. She is a worrier and often sits up late at night thinking about things that she cannot control. An exceptionally strong singer, who has great stage-presence and charisma.

PETER ‘BEAGLE’ GRIMBLE — Age 14. A very light-hearted, playful, humorous, simple but caring boy who is fiercely loyal to his friends. He carries his best-friend pet mouse, Mousey, with him wherever he goes. He has a very active imagination and enjoys playing games and having fun in general. He doesn’t take anything too seriously and has a talent for injecting a sense of silliness into any situation. Ideally he would have a more localised/working-class accent or sensibility – he doesn’t have the same level of sophistication as some of the other characters in the group.

WILLIAM MILLER — Age 16. The eldest boy, brother of Frances and leader of the gang, who is the only one of the gang who succeeds in enlisting in the army and going to war. Boyfriend of the very attractive Sybil, he is quite cheeky but affectionate with her. He is charming, confident but very morally-centered with a good sense of right and wrong. Brave, smart, resourceful and feels responsible for the welfare of the group as a whole. He is a good-looking, strong boy who looks older than his 16 years.

JACK RIDLEY — Age 12. He is often scared and is the first to question or doubt any adventures or plans the group put together. He has a good heart, but requires the strength of others around him to see things through. He would ideally be one of the smallest out of the defender boys, puny with a low sense of self-confidence.

FELIX TURNER — Age 14. Born to a German mother and an English father, he was born in England but is also fluent in German. He is new to the town/area, moving from London two months previously. Intelligent and sharp, he is preoccupied with charting the local weather and writing things down when he can. He is methodical and very calm, he never loses his temper. He develops an affinity/friendship with Beagle, who is a very different personality-type. He ideally would have a medium/average build for a boy of his age, be well-dressed and well-presented at all times.

GLADYS DIXON — Age 12. Gladys is a good-hearted, practical girl who can be very feisty and opinionated when something she believes in is challenged. She gets on with everyone but has a rather contentious relationship with Beagle, whom she finds immature and irritating. Subconsciously, she harbours a little bit of a crush on him, but she would never admit to this and isn’t really even aware of it herself.

SYBIL LANE — Age 15. Sybil is a genteel, kind and exceptionally pretty girl who turns heads wherever she goes (she is also well aware of this, but is quite modest). Her heart belongs to William, who can always charm her round from any quibbles they might have. Her best friend is Gladys and although she doesn’t have the strongest of personalities in the group, she will stand up for herself and others when needed. She will be the tallest of the Defender girls, very physically pretty and hold herself in a very lady-like manner.

FLORENCE CHAPMAN — Age 8. A very cute and prettily-dressed little girl, the youngest and smallest of the Defenders. An almost bi-polar personality, she will be very monosyllabic, placid and sweet one moment and then psychotic and aggressive if she feels threatened in any way. She is very protective and
affectionate towards her Dad, whom we never see, and is off fighting in the war in France. She worries about his welfare, though she likes to boast that he is a brilliant soldier and born fighter.

JAMES ‘JIMMY’ BIGGS — Age 11. Jimmy’s first love is his bike, which he received as a present from his grandad. He is a very friendly, carefree spirit who doesn’t belong to any particular friendship group. He likes to cycle around the town, dipping in and out of any excitement that happens. At his core, he is a good soul and likes to see everyone having fun in harmony together. He can he scrappy though, and will stand up for himself if needed.

‘GRIPPER’S GANG’ are the bullies of the town and school. They are all mean-spirited with a reputation for physically and emotionally bullying the local children. The group is led by ‘GRIPPER’.

LESLIE ‘GRIPPER’ WOOD — Age 16. Gripper is always referred to by this nickname, his gang would never dare refer to him by his Christian name. He is an average sized boy, looks older than his age and uses this to his advantage in bullying younger and smaller kids. Like all bullies, deep-down he is insecure, particularly about the fact that his Dad is a conscientious objector, something Gripper doesn’t understand and chalks up to cowardice. He is by far the most intelligent boy in the gang. He leads by fear and enjoys carrying around his cricket bat to threaten local kids for his own personal
enjoyment. He is charismatic and extremely menacing.

ALFRED ‘ALFIE’ MARSTON — Age 16. One of the right-hand men of Gripper, Alfie is not very bright at all but is physically quite strong and would be good to have on-side in a fight. He is easily led and manipulated by someone like Gripper. He has a small vocabulary and enjoys the security of being part of a group like Gripper’s gang. Best friends with Roy and afraid of Gripper on a fundamental level.

ROYSTON ‘ROY’ COLLIER — Age 16. Roy is similar to Alfie – he isn’t the sharpest tool in the box and gets by on his physical strength and ability to intimidate. From a working-class background, he is envious of those who have had a more privileged upbringing, whom he calls ‘ponces’. He is best friends with Alfie and is also fearful of Gripper.

MARTHA O’REILLY — Age 15. Martha is super-mean and quite bitchy at her core. She enjoys the negativity and aggression of Gripper’s gang even though she is physically quite weak. She will ideally have harsh features and a menacing tone to her voice. Older sister of Minnie.

VICTORIA ‘MINNIE’ O’REILLY — Age 12. The younger sister of Martha, Minnie has unfortunately become involved with Gripper’s gang by default, even though she is actually not that mean herself. She is mostly passive, but loyal to the gang, and her sister, in the end. She will be physically smaller than Martha.

Casting Note:
The flexible ensemble can consist of 6 Boys / 6 Girls, mixed ages, ranges, heights, ethnicities and builds. The characters are aged 8-18, but can also be played by older performers as well.

Orchestral Information

Currently THE BATTLE OF BOAT is available with one of three orchestration options:

1. Performance Tracks Only
2. Full Orchestrations*
3. Reduced Orchestrations/Partial Tracks**

Full Orchestrations*
Partitur (for stick-conductor)
Horn
Keyboard 1
Keyboard 2
Percussion
Bass Trombone
Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2
Violin 1
Violin 2
Viola
Cello

Reduced Orchestrations / Partial Tracks**
Partitur (for stick-conductor)
Horn
Bass Trombone
Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2
Violin 1
Violin 2
Viola
Cello
Click Tracks
Tracks containing Percussion and Keyboard Parts