As Hampton Court Palace celebrates 500 years of history this year, the search has begun for young actors who can bring history to life during the year-long festivities.
The Palace is looking for 70 actors between the ages of 16 and 20, to be a part of the TimeQuake event at the end of May and perform live in front of the thousands of visitors that the Palace will attract this year.
Henry VIII joins in the celebration at Hampton Court Place.
The Director of learning and participation at the Rose Theatre, Ciaran McConville, said: “This is an extraordinary opportunity for charismatic young people, with or with-out experience as actors, to develop great skills and be a part of a fantastical world of time travel at Hampton Court Palace.”
“They will entertain thousands of children and get a unique perspective of this wonderful piece of our heritage. The Rose is proud to be involved in this project and encourages all young people with a love of adventure stories to apply for an enjoyable workshop audition.”
From May 23rd to 31st, TimeQuake will take visitors through a journey through Hampton Court Palace as it was during Tudor, Stuart and Georgian times. The young actors will play the part of various historical figures who were involved with Hampton Court in the past, and will guide visitors around parts of the palace that are normally out of bounds.
Auditions will be held on the 9th February, where each participant will receive professional training from a group of performers at the Rose Theater, through workshops held over nearly three months. Click here to know more about the audition, training, rehearsal and job requirements.
This year marks 500 years since Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, chief minister and adviser to King Henry VIII, took over Hampton Court and began to build an extravagant palace on that site. After Cardinal Wolsey fell from grace in 1529, the Palace was acquired by The King. Since then, Hampton Court Palace has been home to generations of Royalty, and although it is no longer an official royal residence, it is an unmissable tourist attraction, just 30 minutes from the heart of London.
“We’ve got big plans for our family visitors throughout our anniversary year but this is a really unique opportunity for young people to play an active role in bringing to life 500 years of history,” said Amy Nagle, events and partnerships manager at Historic Royal Palaces. “We are encouraging as many applicants as possible to put themselves forward and help us show our visitors the palace in a whole new light.”
Photo credit: Historic Royal Palaces 2015
