One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Audition Letter
I am delighted that the Mitre Players have agreed to present One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as their Spring
production in 2014. I am sure that this outstanding play by Dale Wasserman, based on the bestselling book by Ken
Kesey and the film adaptation starring Jack Nicholson needs little introduction but, just in case you need a reminder,
you can read a synopsis of the play at the bottom of this letter. This is a fantastic play with a rare mix of superb
characterisations, action, comedy, tragedy, desperation and hope.
There are also plenty of parts, large and smaller, for actors of all ages. There are 17 parts for 13 men and 4 women
and there are details of all of these later in this letter. First the facts:
 Auditions will take place on Thursday 3rd and Thursday 10th October from 7.30pm at the TWWA Clubhouse,
Lime Meadow Avenue, Sanderstead, CR2 9AS. There will be a brief presentation talk before the auditions
on Thursday 3rd, so it is advisable to get there for 7.30pm.
 Rehearsals will start in mid-January, initially on Monday and Thursday evenings from 7.30pm. From the end
of February until the performances, we will also be rehearsing on Sunday evenings from 6.30pm.
 Performance dates are Wednesday 9th to Saturday 12th April 2014. Performances will be in the Mitre Theatre
at Trinity School, Croydon, CR9 7AT and there will be full dress rehearsals on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th
April. If you audition, you MUST be available for both dress rehearsals as well as an all-day rehearsal on
Sunday 6th April.

The whole of Trinity School site is a no-smoking venue, including the grounds.
 To audition for the play you must be either a Patron or Member of the Mitre Players for 2013 – This can be
paid on the night of the auditions. (£10.00)
 If cast, you must join the Mitre Players and be a full member for 2014. Details of membership may be found
on the website - www.mitreplayers.org.uk
 In order to schedule rehearsals effectively and so that, hopefully, I can avoid wasting anybody’s time during
the rehearsal period, you will be asked to fill in a form regarding your availability for rehearsals on the night
of your audition. It will be expected that most main parts will need to be available for most of the rehearsals
and, this being the case, I would ask you to consider – and be honest about! - your availability before
auditioning for a part.
 If you would like further details or would like to take part but can’t attend the auditions, please contact the
Director, Dave Price – dave.price@mitreplayers.org.uk or the production manager, Di Jones di.jones@mitreplayers.org.uk
 As soon as I can arrange it with our webmaster, I will attach audition pieces to the website. I will send
another general email when this has been done! In the meantime, please feel free to contact me if you
would like to know more about a particular part.
I am very much looking forward to seeing you at the auditions and I’m really looking forward to getting our
combined teeth into this fabulous piece of drama. If you would like any other details in the meantime, please don’t
hesitate to get in touch.
Dave Price, director.
The Characters
The play’s main protagonists, the almost Christ-like Randall P McMurphy and the stern, controlling and manipulative
Nurse Ratched almost need no introduction but, nevertheless, for the sake of form, they are included in the
character list below!(The descriptions below in quotation marks come from Dale
Wasserman’s character descriptions in the script.)
The Patients
Chief Bromden is a “huge, bull‐muscled Indian
who stands six and a half feet but when people
are about carries himself like a small man.” He
has been diagnosed as being schizophrenic. The
staff also believe that he is deaf and dumb.
Much of the action in the story is seen through
his eyes.
Dale Harding is “in his late thirties, handsome,
effete.” An intelligent but nervous man. He is
the most educated patient in the institute. His
problems stem from his feelings of sexual
inadequacy brought about by his dominating
wife.
Billy Bibbit is “In age, almost thirty, but appears
more like a boy.” He suffers from insecurity, a
strong guilt complex and he continues to be
totally controlled by his mother. Billy also has a
stuttering problem.
Scanlon is “in his fifties.” He is obsessively
preoccupied with the imaginary construction of
bombs that he wants to use “to blow up the
whole stinkin’ world.”
Charles Cheswick is “short, chubby, crew‐cut;
his manner alternately truculent and cringing.”
He is one of McMurphy’s first supporters in the
ward. He is constantly asking for changes in
ward policies but lacks the courage to act.
Martini is “a little Italian … eager and brighteyed.”
He suffers from frequent hallucinations.
Ruckly is “blank‐faced and empty‐eyed.” He is a
victim of electro‐shock therapy and an
unsuccessful lobotomy. He spends much of his
time standing, as if crucified, against a wall and
uttering the occasional profanity.
Randle Patrick McMurphy is 35 years old. A
boisterous, self‐centered and self‐confident
man. He loves to gamble and con people. His
self‐assured attitude and manic behaviour puts
him a sharp conflict with Nurse Ratched. McMurphy
serves as the unlikely Christ figure in the novel—the
dominant force challenging the establishment and the
ultimate savior of the victimized patients.
The Staff
Warren and Williams are aides who work on the
ward. They unquestioningly follow Nurse
Ratched's orders.
Dr. Spivey is the head psychiatrist in the ward
He is easily manipulated by McMurphy and
Nurse Ratched.
Nurse Ratched (also known as the Big Nurse) is
a “handsome woman, her age hard to tell. There
is an odd perfection about her.” She is the
ultimate authority in the ward. She has a serene
confidence and asserts her absolute control
through intimidation and manipulation.
Nurse Flinn is a “vapid girl with apprehensive
eyes.” She is young and eager.
Mr. Turkle is the “aging night man” on the ward.
He has a weakness for alcohol and marijuana.
He too is easily manipulated by McMurphy.
Others
Candy Starr is a fun loving prostitute and a
longtime friend of McMurphy. “She is a dish.”
Sandra is also a prostitute and friend of
McMurphy.
If Possible, and – hopefully – if anyone wanted to
contribute to the play with very little commitment to
rehearsals (there’s a selling point if ever there was
one!), I would really like one or two non-speaking
character lunatics as dressing in the daytime scenes.
Please let me know if you might be interested!
A Brief Synopsis
The curtain rises on a large, sterile ward in a
mental asylum which is kept under control by the
icy rule of Nurse Ratched. The patients are kept in
line through the use of tranquilizing drugs and
the threat of electroconvulsive therapy and
worse.
When Randle P. McMurphy, an uncontrolled
brash, self‐confident, fighter, gambler, lover and
self‐confessed psychopath bursts into the ward,
Nurse Ratched’s unchallenged rule is put into
question.
To avoid hard jail time at a prison farm,
McMurphy has pretended to be crazy. Ironically,
he soon finds that this mental asylum is far more
harsh and oppressive than his previous prison
ever was.
At first, McMurphy’s attitude and defiance
towards Ratched and her rules serve as a source
of humour and sport. However the ward’s
dynamics quickly change to a no‐holds‐barred
conflict between McMurphy’s irrepressible desire
to express his free will and Nurse Ratched’s
uncompromising commitment to
maintain her control and authority.
Prior to McMurphy’s arrival, the patients had
given up and given in to Nurse Ratched’s
authority. They tolerate her arbitrary rules and
have abandoned any desire to exercise any form
of independence. McMurphy decides that he
will make men out of the complacent “boys.”
Soon, much to the dismay of Nurse Ratched, the
patients are resisting her authority and are
verging on rebellion.
McMurphy is threatened with electroconvulsive
therapy if he does not conform to Ratched’s
expectations. Predictably, McMurphy is unable to
give in to the Big Nurse’s authority and the threat
becomes a reality.
Not content with merely inflicting humiliation and
pain on McMurphy, Nurse Ratched manipulates
events to show McMurphy who is in ultimate
control and to ensure that all the patients learn a
lesson about the consequences of defiant
behaviour such as McMurphy’s.
Much of the story is witnessed through the eyes
of Chief Bromden and in the end, it is he who
finds a way to free McMurphy (and himself) from
Nurse Ratched.
Just for once, I would have no hesitation in
recommending the film version if you have
never seen it. The play was actually written after
the film and beautifully synthesises the best of
the film and the book. It’s a must!!!
Oh, and in case you were wondering –
Vintery, mintery, cutery, corn,
Apple seed and apple thorn;
Wire, briar, limber lock,
Three geese in a flock.
One flew east,
And one flew west,
And one flew over the cuckoo's nest.