Simon Dunmore's List
of Male Shakespeare Characters and Speeches Too Often Used for
Audition
Aaron (Titus Andronicus)
Angelo (Measure For
Measure)
Benedick (Much Ado
About Nothing)
Bottom (A Midsummer
Night's Dream)
Brutus (Julius Caesar)
Cassius (Julius Caesar)
Chorus (Henry V)
- The opening speech, "O for a muse of fire..."
Clarence (Richard III)
Edgar (King Lear)
Edmund (King Lear)
Egeus (A Midsummer
Night's Dream)
Hamlet (Hamlet)
Hotspur (Henry IV,
part 1)
Iago (Othello)
Lancelot Gobbo (The
Merchant of Venice)
Launce (The Two Gentlemen
of Verona)
Macbeth (Macbeth)
Malvolio (Twelfth Night)
Mark Antony (Julius
Caesar)
Marullus (Julius Caesar)
Mercutio (Romeo And
Juliet)
Oberon (A Midsummer
Night's Dream)
Orsino (Twelfth Night)
Othello (Othello)
Petruchio (The Taming
Of The Shrew)
Philip the Bastard (King
John)
Prince Hal, later Henry
V (Henry IV, parts 1 & 2 and Henry V)
Puck (A Midsummer Night's
Dream)
Richard II (Richard
II)
Richard III (Richard
III)
Romeo (Romeo And Juliet)
Shylock (The Merchant
Of Venice)
Trinculo (The Tempest)
- "Here's neither bush nor shrub..." (Act 2, Scene 2)
- I have cited specific
scenes/speeches against a character, when there is material elsewhere
for that character which doesn't tend to be used.
- This list is based on
a survey of approximately three years of auditions.
- I'm not saying that
you shouldn't use any of the material above - there are
some wonderful characters and speeches cited. However, you should
feel very, very sure (in the moment of audition) that you can
do your choice very well. Remember: experienced auditioners have
seen all the above many times before.
If you are having trouble working
out who is related to whom in Shakespeare's history plays have
a look at <http://www.royalist.info>
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