Calling all dummies! Phoenix Players' appeal for help with Ben Hur show

WANTED: one dummy for a theatre show!

Don’t worry, this isn’t a slightly-offensive casting call, the Phoenix Players need a shop-style mannequin to join their next production.

Phoenix (seen above in rehearsal) are on the hunt for the unusual prop for their upcoming production of Ben Hur and Rotherham Civic Theatre from April 30 to May 3.

Show director Tracey Briggs said: “We are looking for a traditional shop dummy.

“We need it as a centrepiece for a Roman statue, so we don’t even need the arms.

“I know it’s not something most people have lying about, but you never know!”

Tracey said among the other vital preparations for the show are is the making of the chariots for Ben-Hur’s famouse chariot race.

“The story follows an amateur theatre troupe as they produce the massive tale of the fictional Jewish prince and merchant Judah Ben-Hur,” she said.

“He falls to galley slave and rises to champion charioteer within Jerusalem during the life of Jesus Christ, while the actors struggle along through the piece as rivalries form and offstage romances interfere.”

Complete with full scale chariot race, sea battle, with real water and breath-taking stage combat, Phoenix turn Patrick Barlow’s compressed style — as  popularized by The 39 Steps — into one of the largest stories ever told on the Civic stage. and all with a cast of four.

If you happened to have an old shop dummy with aspirations to appear on stage call contact Neil Mather on 0114 275 6981 or email via the website at  www.phoenixplayersrotherham.co.uk.

Tickets for the show are priced at £9.50 and are available from the Civic box office 01709 823621 or at www.rotherhamtheatres.co.uk.