An Oxford theatre company is looking for budding actors keen to tread the boards as Toad, Ratty or Mole in a new production of The Wind in the Willows.

BMH is staging the popular classic at the Old Fire Station in August and wants all the cast members to be Oxford residents.

The auditions will be taking place at the George Street theatre on Saturday between noon and 3pm.

Organiser Ashley Harvey said the auditions would be open to anyone over the age of 16 - regardless of experience.

Mr Harvey said: "This is the sixth production that we have done and we wanted to open it up to Oxford and get the people that live in the city involved.

"We want to be a company for the people of Oxford, and all the parts in the play are up for grabs."

Mr Harvey said this was an exciting time for the theatre company, which has just been accepted by the Royal Shakespeare Company to put on productions of Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice in Stratford this summer.

He said: "There is a lot happening right now and this project is something that we are very excited about.

"This is a great opportunity for anyone that wants to get involved in theatre, or that have done some acting before.

"We don't care if it's the first time you have ever acted, everyone of all abilities will be welcome to come and have a go.

"We won't be able to pay people, but it's a great opportunity."

Mr Harvey said he was excited by the prospect of unearthing a new acting talent.

He added: "By opening it up like this you just don't know what you are going to get. I'm sure there will be a lot of talented people that come."

While there is only one audition day scheduled so far, Mr Harvey said that another day could easily be organised if the demand was great enough.

He said: "We just want people to come on down and give it a go."