We’re in the middle of auditions at the moment for three shows. It’s always amazing that so many actors come to auditions so unprepared. It’s surely obvious that you give yourself very little chance of getting a job if you haven’t fully prepared for it. Every audition should be approached with the same attitude: “I am going to show them that I am the best for the job and they need look no further”. That’s going to be difficult to achieve if you haven’t read the play or the book or found an appropriate audition speech. Most actors come with the attitude: “I’ll show them what I can do, if they like me, great – if not, there’s always next time”. Whenever I’ve worked with American directors they are always amazed by the lack of preparation from British actors. Perhaps as a nation we’re simply lazy? But there’s no doubt, the ones who come most prepared are the ones who get the job. I think some actors wonder if there is any point in preparing too hard as the odds suggest they are likely to get rejected. But this creates its own vicious circle – and the less they prepare, the less chance they have. When you’re up against 100 people for one role, you’ve got to pull something out of the bag to grab the part. But it’s not all doom and gloom – we’re already half way to casting all three shows and they are looking very exciting. There are some great actors out there and we’ve grabbed them!