BRITISH MANIAC

Inspired by American Psycho, a young man becomes obsessed with filming its spiritual sequel. As the story progresses, the protagonist loses all grip on reality. When fact and fiction blend, anyone could die.

Characters

KANE, Main Character (M/20):

Thin appearance. Narcissistic and psychopathic behaviour, cold and calculating (not at the start, he becomes like this during the short film). Goes to therapy for his mental health problems. Film and Philosophy student. Becomes obsessed with filming a film based on ‘American Psycho’, leading him to commit many real murders.

“The blood isn’t right. I need a bigger pool but with less…brain bits.”
“Can you bleed a bit more? I need more blood from you.”
“Parasites. The lot of them. Vermin. Scum. Those that call themselves friends are just biding their time. Waiting to stab you in the back. Et tu, Brute? I’m better off without him. History will remember me. He will fade to dust.”

PATRICK, Secondary Character (M/20):

Kane’s best friend, audience's anchor to reality. Level-headed and sensible, becomes depressed and ridden with guilt through the film after his ‘involvement’ in one of the killings.

“After we left them we went down this alleyway and some tramp… sorry, I shouldn’t say tramp. Some hobo followed us and tried to take our money. I fought him off and he fell over. There was so much blood. I think he died.”
“I mean the police. We killed a man, Kane. We need to turn ourselves in before they catch us. If we do, we’ll get a lighter sentence.”

THERAPIST (M/30):

Unprofessional, twisted, cynical, disorganised. Dismissive and uncaring. Kane visits him for his mental health problems, but he, rather than being helpful, he is unintentionally a bad influence on him: he plays an important role in putting the idea of the film in Kane’s head and not deliberately encouraging the murders (he couldn't care less - twisted indifference).

“I could show you some places; seedy wee hidey holes where they cater to all sorts of perversions. I—”
“Let’s do it, then. These bonds are starting to give me a semi. And I don’t want to meet my maker with an erection.”

JANE (F/20):

Nice on the surface, still selfish. In a (toxic) relationship with Paul. Kane’s damsel in distress: he hates Paul and seems to romantically pursue her, but he isn’t that interested.

“Sounds nice. We never go to the pictures or that anymore, do we Paul?”
“It’s just so unlike him. Paul and I fall out all the time. We have a day of stubborn silence and the next we fix it. But now, he won’t even answer his phone.”
“That’s it. Run away, like you always do. Don’t try and fix it.”

PAUL (M/20):

Muscular and tall appearance. Hard-handed brute, not very bright, self-interested, and superficial. Jane’s boyfriend, fights with her and is abusive. Fourth of Kane’s victims. [Both Jane and Paul are seen through Kane's eyes, as he is the unreliable narrator].

“Still more cleverer than you.”
“How long have we been together? And you still do stupid shit like this?”

POLICEMAN (M/20):

Unprofessional and dismissive (like the therapist in many ways). Kane and Patrick go to the police station to confess about the murders, but, tired of listening to them, the policeman kicks them out.

“Two birds, one brick.”
“What’s going on here? Is this some kind of Gen Z joke?”

VICTIMS:
VIC 1 (M/30) – Tries to mug Kane and Patrick, after which Kane accidentally kills him. 
VIC 2 (M/30) – Is shouting at and kicking his dog, which encourages Kane to kill him. He records the murder; this is the first killing for his film.
VIC 3 (M/30) – Drunk, urinating against wall.
VIC 5 (F/30) – Litters at the park.
VIC 6 – Jogger (?)
VIC 7 – Businessman (?)
VIC 8 – Schoolgirl (?)

Plus more victims, to sit in the theatre seats doing nothing looking ‘corpselike’. Victims 6, 7 and 8 are random people and don’t do much. They each appear briefly. Gender/age less important.

DM us on Facebook (or email us) ASAP if you're interested in playing a part in this zero-budget student film.

Auditions either next Wednesday or the following in Mandela Room.