"The Battle Of Boat" Play In Need Of Kids and Teens

Sister to William, Frances leads the group and makes the majority of the decisions.

A very light-hearted, playful, humorous, simple but caring boy who is fiercely loyal to his friends.

The eldest boy, brother of Frances and leader of the gang, who is the only one of the gang who succeeds in enlisting in the army and going to war.

He is often scared and is the first to question or doubt any adventures or plans the group put together. He has a good heart, but requires the strength of others around him to see things through. He would ideally be one of the smallest out of the defender boys, puny with a low sense of self-confidence.

Born to a German mother and an English father, he was born in England but is also fluent in German. He is new to the town/area, moving from London two months previously.

Gladys is a good-hearted, practical girl who can be very feisty and opinionated when something she believes in is challenged. She gets on with everyone but has a rather contentious relationship with Beagle, whom she finds immature and irritating. Subconsciously, she harbours a little bit of a crush on him, but she would never admit to this and isn’t really even aware of it herself.

Sybil is a genteel, kind and exceptionally pretty girl who turns heads wherever she goes (she is also well aware of this, but is quite modest). Her heart belongs to William, who can always charm her round from any quibbles they might have.

A very cute and prettily-dressed little girl, the youngest and smallest of the Defenders. An almost bi-polar personality, she will be very monosyllabic, placid and sweet one moment and then psychotic and aggressive if she feels threatened in any way. She is very protective and affectionate towards her Dad, whom we never see, and is off fighting in the war in France. She worries about his welfare, though she likes to boast that he is a brilliant soldier and born fighter.

Jimmy’s first love is his bike, which he received as a present from his grandad. He is a very friendly, carefree spirit who doesn’t belong to any particular friendship group. He likes to cycle around the town, dipping in and out of any excitement that happens. At his core, he is a good soul and likes to see everyone having fun in harmony together. He can he scrappy though, and will stand up for himself if needed.

Gripper is always referred to by this nickname, his gang would never dare refer to him by his Christian name. He is an average sized boy, looks older than his age and uses this to his advantage in bullying younger and smaller kids.

One of the right-hand men of Gripper, Alfie is not very bright at all but is physically quite strong and would be good to have on-side in a fight. He is easily led and manipulated by someone like Gripper.

Roy is similar to Alfie – he isn’t the sharpest tool in the box and gets by on his physical strength and ability to intimidate. From a working-class background, he is envious of those who have had a more privileged upbringing, whom he calls ‘ponces’. He is best friends with Alfie and is also fearful of Gripper.

Martha is super-mean and quite bitchy at her core. She enjoys the negativity and aggression of Gripper’s gang even though she is physically quite weak. She will ideally have harsh features and a menacing tone to her voice. Older sister of Minnie.

The younger sister of Martha, Minnie has unfortunately become involved with Gripper’s gang by default, even though she is actually not that mean herself. She is mostly passive, but loyal to the gang, and her sister, in the end. She will be physically smaller than Martha.