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Cast Breakdown: Rock 'n' Roll

TITLE:	Rock 'n' Roll
AUTHOR(S):	By Tom Stoppard
TYPE:
SYNOPSIS:	The play takes place from 1968 to 1990 in Cambridge , England and Prague , Czechoslovakia . Jan, a Czech educated in England, leaves Cambridge and his mentor, Max, to return to Prague when the city is occupied by Soviet tanks in 1968. Believing that music can be transforming, he takes with him nothing but his beloved collection of rock and roll records. This is a story of colliding values, disparate philosophies, and conflicting passions, filled with harsh arguments and ambiguous acts of betrayal among people who truly love one another.

CHARACTERS:
NAME: The Piper	AGE RANGE:
A close relative of Syd Barrett of the rock band, Pink Floyd.

NAME: Esme (younger)	AGE RANGE:
A flower child of the period, 1968. Eleanor and Max's daughter. She sends rock music to Jan in Czechoslovakia .	16

NAME: Jan	AGE RANGE:
Max's protégé, was born in Czechoslovakia and educated in England . He has a Ph.D. Very close to Max. In Czechoslovakia , first he's a journalist, then a political prisoner, then he works in a bakery.	29

NAME: Max	AGE RANGE:
A professor at Cambridge and a published author. An old school (Marxist) communist. Passionate. Part bear, part lion, part human.	almost 51

NAME: Eleanor	AGE RANGE:
She is fighting breast cancer. Highly educated, she's an authority on Sappho. She and Max are married. They love each other.	late 40's

NAME: Gillian	AGE RANGE:
One of Eleanor's students.	20 to 25

NAME: Interrogator	AGE RANGE:
A "youngish," middle-ranking bureaucrat.

NAME: Ferdinand	AGE RANGE:
Living in Czechoslovakia, he's Jan's good friend and a political dissident.	about 29

NAME: Milan	AGE RANGE:
Milan is a code name for a Czech contact working for the Russians.	early 30's to 50's

NAME: Magda	AGE RANGE:
A young Czech woman, she's a student and Jan's lover. Becomes a lawyer investigating the archives of the Russian secret police, the "STB".

NAME: Policeman 1	AGE RANGE:
A member of the secret police in Russian occupied Czechoslovakia.	30 to 40's

NAME: Policeman 2	AGE RANGE:
A second member of the secret police in Russian occupied Czechoslovakia.	30 to 40's

NAME: Lenka	AGE RANGE:
She's Jan's former lover. An informer? She's studying Philology in Cambridge . As a young woman, she gets above herself on occasion. Becomes Dr. Lenka Chamberlain. Becomes Max's partner.	29, then early 40's.

NAME: Nigel	AGE RANGE:
Esme's ex-husband and the father of Alice. He becomes a reporter. Marries Candida.	about 30, later 40 ish

NAME: Esme (older)	AGE RANGE:
Now Alice's mother, she's educating herself. Still giving Jan rock music.

NAME: Alice	AGE RANGE:
Esme's daughter. A rock music aficionado. A respectful fan, she tries to protect Roger ("Syd") Barrett from those fans who would be disrespectful.	16, then 19

NAME: Stephen	AGE RANGE:
Alice's friend and lover, a tactful person. Bold enough to go at it with Max.	about 19

NAME: Candida	AGE RANGE:
A columnist for a local tabloid. Attractive, self-made. Nigel is her husband.	40 ish

NAME: Deirdre	AGE RANGE:
Lenka's pupil.	20 to 28

NAME: Waiter	AGE RANGE:

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