The Apple Cart: every role by lines, words, and stage time

George Bernard Shaw. 23 speaking roles, 22,556 words, about 161 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Magnus has the most to say in The Apple Cart: about 937 lines and 8,186 words, 36.3% of the play. The Apple Cart is Shaw’s political comedy about a king who outwits his cabinet in a future England. Magnus dominates, with more than a third of the words, and speaks in all three sections. Proteus is the next largest part at about an eighth, while Orinthia speaks only in the Interlude, a long duet with Magnus.

Speaking roles: 23
Scenes: 3
Words: 22,556
Speech time: 161 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Magnus	937	8,186	36.3%	58.5	3
Proteus	310	2,617	11.6%	18.7	2
Boanerges	265	2,155	9.6%	15.4	2
Orinthia	235	2,064	9.2%	14.7	1
Lysistrata	153	1,363	6%	9.7	2
Vanhattan	138	1,214	5.4%	8.7	1
Sempronius	136	1,190	5.3%	8.5	2
Amanda	102	791	3.5%	5.7	2
Balbus	76	566	2.5%	4.0	2
Crassus	74	553	2.5%	4.0	2
Nicobar	75	510	2.3%	3.6	2
Pamphilius	66	501	2.2%	3.6	2
The Queen	56	417	1.8%	3.0	1
Pliny	46	324	1.4%	2.3	2
Alice	6	52	0.2%	0.4	1
Male Ministers Except Proteus	2	15	0.1%	0.1	1
The Young Lady	1	6	0%	0.0	1
The Male Cabinet	1	5	0%	0.0	1
Male Ministers	1	4	0%	0.0	1
The Other Male Ministers	1	4	0%	0.0	1
All The Other Men	1	2	0%	0.0	1
The Men	1	2	0%	0.0	1
All The Rest	1	1	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	Act 1	Int	Act 2
Magnus
Proteus
Boanerges
Orinthia
Lysistrata
Vanhattan
Sempronius
Amanda
Balbus
Crassus
Nicobar
Pamphilius

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Magnus: “Naturally I want to avert a conflict in which …”	Act 1	1,178	118
Lysistrata: “Just so! Breakages, Limited! just so! Listen t…”	Act 1	629	63
Magnus: “Some day perhaps Nature will graft the roses o…”	Interlude	354	36
Orinthia: “Give me a goddess’s work to do; and I will do …”	Interlude	335	34
Sempronius: “Now you have hit the really funny thing about …”	Act 1	331	34
Magnus: “Perhaps I had better explain. I quite apprecia…”	Act 1	256	26
Orinthia: “I cannot understand it. All men are fools and …”	Interlude	227	23
Vanhattan: “Well, is it? We found that culture enshrined i…”	Act 2	211	22
Amanda: “I’ll tell you. He opened his campaign with a g…”	Act 1	174	18
Vanhattan: “France and Germany? These queer old geographic…”	Act 2	173	18

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

The Queen and Alice
The Queen and The Young Lady
The Queen and The Male Cabinet
Alice and Male Ministers Except Proteus
Alice and Male Ministers
Alice and The Other Male Ministers
Alice and All The Other Men
Alice and The Men
Alice and All The Rest
Male Ministers Except Proteus and The Young Lady
Male Ministers Except Proteus and The Male Cabinet
The Young Lady and Male Ministers

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Apple Cart?

Magnus, with about 937 lines and 8,186 words, 36.3% of everything spoken in the play. Proteus is next, with about 310 lines (11.6%).

How long is The Apple Cart?

The full text has 22,556 spoken words, about 161 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in The Apple Cart?

23 named roles speak in this edition, across 3 scenes. 11 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.