Charles is a famous London theatre director in his sixties who has retired to an English coastal house to live as a hermit and abjure his theatrical magic. Despite his declarations of seeking goodness and solitude, he remains deeply theatrical, ego-driven, and accustomed to controlling the people around him. He spends his days cooking precise meals, swimming, and constructing private mythologies about his past romances.

Mary Hartley Fitch is a woman from Warwickshire who separated from Charles when they were adolescents and married someone else. Now in her sixties, she lives quietly in a village bungalow called Nibletts with her husband. She is plainspoken, nonconfrontational, and largely grounded in her current life, though she struggles to effectively communicate her boundaries.

Ben is a retired fire-extinguisher salesman and ex-soldier living in a village on the English coast. He shares a difficult, strained marriage with his wife and is highly suspicious of outsiders interfering in his household. He can be abrasive and fiercely guards his domestic life.

James is Charles's cousin, a career military officer who recently left the army. He maintains a cluttered Pimlico flat filled with artifacts from his extensive travels in Tibet. As a practicing Buddhist, he offers a quiet, philosophical counterweight to Charles's chaotic emotional demands.

Titus is an 18-year-old young man who ran away from his adopted parents a few years prior. He arrives at the coastal village seeking answers about his biological origins following a chaotic upbringing. He holds strong personal boundaries and refuses to be manipulated by older adults.

Lizzie is a stage actress who previously maintained an unstable romance with Charles. She has recently established a peaceful, platonic domestic life in London to protect herself from further heartbreak. She attempts to enforce boundaries but remains vulnerable to Charles's sudden declarations.

Rosina is a successful actress and former lover of Charles who harbors intense grievances against him. She actively monitors his relationships, determined to exact revenge for his past betrayals. She uses intimidation and disruption to enforce an old promise he made to her.

Peregrine is an actor who has maintained a long, outward friendship with Charles. He projects an affable, forgiving nature regarding the past collapse of his first marriage. Underneath his boisterous exterior, he struggles with deep personal dissatisfactions and alcohol consumption.

Gilbert is a gay actor who shares a comfortable, platonic home with Lizzie Scherer. After trying to protect Lizzie from Charles's letters, he is co-opted into staying at Shruff End. He adopts a subservient, butler-like role in Charles's household, eager to please his former director.

Clement is a deceased older actress who served as Charles's primary mentor and lover during his early theatrical career. She holds a monumental place in his memories, representing the launch of his professional success. Charles frequently measures his other relationships against her lasting influence.