DELIVERED DELIVERED FORTNIGHTLY FORTNIGHTLY DELIVERED FORTNIGHTLY
Brazen raiders target Sunnynook dairy... p3
Issue 1 –Issue March 2019 March 2019 Issue 93 –151October 28, 2022 Issue – 115– 15 March 2019
Takapuna Boating Club welcomes newbies... p10
AN INDEPENDENT AN INDEPENDENT VOICEVOICE AN INDEPENDENT VOICE
All-woman play revisits the 80s... p14
Show goes on for fleeced theatre company A series of thefts that nearly sank a North Shore arts institution has been detailed in court, with the sentencing of Shoreside Theatre’s former long-standing treasurer. Nicholas Greer, aged 43, pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court last week to a representative theft charge, related to $60,000 stolen from
the theatre. He was sentenced to nine-and-a-half months’ home detention. Around $10,000 of the stolen money was returned to Shoreside’s account. Greer was ordered to repay the remaining $50,000. “We’re very pleased to put a full stop on that,” said Shoreside’s former president Catherine
Boniface, who in March 2020 discovered money had been diverted from Shoreside’s accounts. The company – which has staged Shakespeare in the Park at Lake Pupuke for 25 summers – needed a public fundraising campaign to keep it afloat. It had to sell costumes and To page 6
Blam! Bandmates reunite for school fundraiser
Old boys... Local real-estate agent Tim Mahon will join his fellow Westlake Boys alumni Don McGlashan and Mark Bell in reforming their band Blam Blam Blam for an event marking the school’s 60th anniversary. Story, page 5.
NED & OW
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The Rangitoto Observer Page 2
Briefs
And... action Cameras are finally being installed to monitor the Forrest Hill Rd T2 lane, after months of delays due to supply issues. Auckland Transport (AT) says they will be in place in early November, with a warning period applying from 14-27 November. After a week-long standdown, the cameras will go live from Monday, 5 December, with offending drivers facing fines of $150 for straying into the special lanes. The $433,000 project for up to six cameras was initially meant to be operational from May.
Dunnies delayed A delay in installing temporary public toilets at Potters Park in Takapuna is due to the discovery of an underground tank when existing toilets on the town-square development site were demolished. This required the contractor to complete extra excavation before new site preparation on the edge of the park could begin, said Auckland Council property arm Eke Panuku. The temporary toilets should be in connected’ very soon, a spokesperson said. They are likely to be in use for three or more years, until new toilets open nearby. Public toilets are also available at the building beside the 38 Hurstmere Rd entrance to the square.
Talks held over large site Negotiations are continuing over the potential sale of the large Kings Plant Barn site on the corner of Forrest Hill and Nile Rds. The 5344 sqm property failed to sell by deadline private treaty which closed on 12 October. But “dialogue” was taking place between the vendors and buyers, said a Colliers commercial property agent, Matt Prentice.
Telephone: 09 445 0060 Email: sales@rangitoto-observer.co.nz news@rangitoto-observer.co.nz Website: www.rangitoto-observer.co.nz
NZ COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARDS Best Community Involvement: 2021, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2005 Best Special Project/Supplement: 2016, 2020 VOYAGER/CANON MEDIA AWARDS Community Reporter of the Year: Winner 2018 Community Newspaper of the Year: Finalist 2017 MANAGING EDITOR: Rob Drent PUBLISHER: Peter Wilson EDITOR: Janetta Mackay
October 28, 2022
Worried board member sets up look at Takapuna sand woes Auckland Council staff will brief the new Devonport-Takapuna Local Board on the state of Takapuna Beach, responding to repeated requests from member George Wood to hear more about its sand-depleted condition. This follows revelations in the last Observer that sand levels are at their lowest since the council began monitoring 25 years ago. Wood wants to know if it is feasible for banked-up sand to be moved down the hollowed-out beach where rocks are exposed. “It takes away its nicest beach in Auckland
status. It looks far from this at present,” he says. If action could be taken to grade the sand, at least below the Gould Reserve grassed area, it might help restore the area’s attractiveness. The council’s resilient land and coasts team said a site visit would be arranged. The council’s area operations manager, Sarah Jones, has indicated to the Observer that bringing in extra sand or shifting it is not considered a good response to cyclical changes to the beach profile. Wood worries: “It looks like it might stay like it is for a long, long time.”
Michael Hill closes indefinitely Takapuna’s Michael Hill Jeweller store has shut indefinitely, leaving the town centre’s prime shopping intersection with three high-profile businesses out of operation. The main Hurstmere Rd shopping block has around a dozen stores for lease or shuttered. Michael Hill told the Observer staff had been deployed to other stores. “The Michael Hill Takapuna store is closed indefinitely and Michael Hill will continue to review,” a spokesperson said.
A third ram-raid on the store on 5 October prompted the company, which has been repeatedly hit at various locations, to promise upgraded security measures across its chain. Initially, the Takapuna store was expected to reopen the following week and later a sign was put up saying it would reopen on 17 October, before the company threw its long-term future in doubt. It did not respond to questions as to whether turnover played a part in the decision not to reopen.
Loose dogs cost owners $8600
Fines totalling $8600 have been issued for dogs deemed not to be under control in the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area so far in 2022. Thirty-five infringement notices have been issued, with fines averaging over $245. The Rangitoto Observer is aware of cases where photographs of dogs on a berm outside an owner’s home have been sent to council and resulted in fines being issued. Auckland Council animal-management manager Elly Waitoa said when a complaint is received an officer investigates and takes a statement from the complainant. “Should a complainant also provide a pho-
tograph of the alleged incident, it may assist the officer to identify the dog and owner and may also be used as evidence of the offence.” In accordance with the Dog Control Act 1996, a roadside berm is considered a public place, meaning that dogs must be controlled and on-leash at all times, Waitoa said. “There are many fantastic parks and beaches across Tāmaki Makaurau where dogs are permitted under control and off-leash,” she said. Dogs in public should be closely supervised, muzzled in situations that might be stressful and kept on leash in on-leash areas. They should also be trained to respond to voice commands, hand signals, whistles or other means.
Simon Watts MP for North Shore
National Party Spokesperson for Local Government and Associate Finance & Associate Infrastructure
Your local MP, supporting you and our community 1 Earnoch Avenue, Takapuna northshore@parliament.govt.nz 09 486 0005
Information in the Rangitoto Observer is copyright and cannot be published or broadcast without the permission of Devonport Publishing Ltd.
NEXT ISSUE: November 11 ADVERTISING DEADLINE: November 4
WRITE TO US: Noms-de-plume or unnamed submissions will not be printed. Email news@rangitoto-observer.co.nz
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The Rangitoto Observer Page 3
October 28, 2022
Raiders undeterred by costly bollards and screen
Still smiling... Dairy owner Narinder Singh is a welcoming presence at his Sunnynook shop, despite a recent failed break-in attempt that shattered his front window Despite having increased security measures, a Sunnynook Dairy has again been hit by a group of brazen offenders. Narinder Singh’s shop was first ram-raided last October. A year later – despite bollards out the front and a roller screen on the window – it has again been targeted. Although the criminals did not manage to gain entry this time, they left a mess of shattered glass, an expected repair bill of $5000 – and shattered nerves for the Singh family who live behind the dairy. “It’s really stressful and it costs a lot of money,” says the husband and father of children aged 13 and seven. “My wife is scared.” Security footage shows four offenders kicking and punching the front window until it shattered overnight on Wednesday 12 October. They also tried to open the door before departing in a car, which a witness said contained several other occupants. A nearby Z service station on East Coast Bays Rd at Crown Hill was also targeted. Sunnynook Community Association chair and newly elelcted Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Melissa Powell, said
Singh “has done all the right things”. As well as bollards and screens, he had CCTV cameras and an alarm put in last year, at a cost of more than $50,000, met largely by insurance. The measures were required to retain ongoing insurance cover. Premiums have risen. Singh’s cameras caught images of the hooded offenders in branded shoes and clothing that he hopes might identify them when reviewed by police. Two days after the attack, Singh was yet to be visited by police. Police said they were “making enquiries to establish what damage was done and whether anything was taken during this incident”. Singh holds little hope of any arrests. Nobody was charged after the 2022 raid. Powell said Singh was an example of the sort of valued community member getting caught up in recent crimes, though it was ram raids at the likes of Michael Hill in town centres that made the television news. “I don’t know what’s going on here, now [crime’s] everywhere” Singh told the Observer. His wife, who used to help in the
dairy, had taken a job where she was less nervous. The family moved to Sunnynook five years ago, after working in a relative’s dairy in Glenfield. The children go to local schools. Singh said they loved the community and had thought it was safe. Until the first ramraid they had had no trouble. “Most of the time I’m not that scared,” he says, although when he saw the latest mess his first reaction was, “Oh my God… again it’s happened.” Powell – who often greets Singh when she goes past the dairy on her morning run – said other than an armed robbery at the Triton Rd dairy about four months ago, Sunnynook generally faced mostly only lower-level offending, such as car break-ins. The community constable held public meetings and offered advice which she hoped was reassuring to community members. But she worries about the impact on victims. Singh says he is grateful to have “really supportive” customers. A neighbour helped him clean up the glass.
The Rangitoto Observer Page 4
October 28, 2022
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The Rangitoto Observer Page 5
October 28, 2022
No depression at Westlake as star old boys return Three Westlake old boys will be rocking their old school hall again next week, when Blam Blam Blam reunites for a fundraising gig to mark the school’s 60th anniversary. Tim Mahon, Don McGlashan and Mark Bell attended the school in the mid-1970s – along with an impressive roll call of other New Zealand musical talent – before forming the band that soared up the charts in the early 1980s. Bassist Mahon is proud that their songs, including Kiwi classic There Is No Depression in New Zealand, still resonate 40 years on. “We did lots of songs about things happening politically in New Zealand – and they still are,’’ says the self-described “only anarchistic, Communist real-estate agent on the North Shore”. Mahon believes the punk-era times and the hot-house of talent he was surrounded with at school set the trio on their way. “Don was in a stratosphere of his own musically,” he recalls. Mahon hadn’t learned an instrument as a child, unlike McGlashan, who mastered the French horn at a young age, or Bell, who knew guitar. Mahon, who grew up in Takapuna and now lives in Hauraki, says he got into bands hoping to attract girls and have fun. “And I did.” He remembers a fantastic music department at Westlake gave him a trombone and after six weeks told him he would never amount to much musically. So he helped manage some of the other would-be musos, while he honed his skills. McGlashan, who lived in Milford, was two years above Mahon at school, and knew Bell, from Castor Bay, who was one year above, through sailing. Bell played with schoolmate Andrew Snoid, later in Pop Mechanix, and Ian Gilroy (The Crocodiles and Swingers) as part of a covers band. McGlashan, who later formed the Front Lawn with yet another Westlaker, Harry Sinclair, was already at 14 playing with a band in a night club above Shore City. “I left school at 16 in 1977, went straight to uni and dropped out, died my hair blue and went on the road,” chuckles Mahon. In retrospect he says he got a superb free education at Westlake, but at the time was a confused adolescent still needing to find his mojo. By 1979, he was appearing with Bell and another former Westlaker, Richard von Sturmer – who appeared naked and covered in blue paint – at the Nambassa musical festival as a member of The Plague, one of this country’s early art-punk bands. These days, father-of-four Mahon suggests aspiring musicians might do better to get a trade under their belt, but he loves how easy it has become to make and share music globally. “The tyranny of distance is no longer a tyranny,” he says. McGlashan is flying in from his Vancou-
Then and now... Blam Blam Blam (top, from left) Tim Mahon, Don McGlashan and Mark Bell and (above) Mahon at home in Hauraki ver-base, via touring in Australia and New Zealand, for the Westlake gig. This means the trio will only get to rehearse the week of the show. But Mahon and Bell, who now lives in Beach Haven, get together to play more often, as well as doing their own recordings. They first played together in a band called The Whizz Kids, which had McGlashan guesting on soprano saxophone and percussion. When other members left, the three formed Blam Blam Blam in 1980, with McGlashan agreeing “to give it a go” on drums. Their two exciting years together ended in a vehicle crash near Whanganui. This left Mahon recuperating on crutches for months and missing a finger on his right hand. But Mahon doesn’t have time for what-ifs. The “genius” McGlashan was on a trajectory, says Mahon. This took him to New York and Bell went to Australia. Mahon spent five years in London before settling into a decade-long role he loved organising community and arts
events for the then Manukau City Council. For 20 years now, he has been back on the Shore as a top real estate agent for Barfoot & Thompson, these days working from its Milford office. He likes the people contact and says if you’re going to live somewhere it may as well be somewhere nice. “There ain’t nowhere else in the world like this.” Until the call-up by Westlake, the trio have only got together a few times through the decades, most recently for a sell-out tour in 2019. But Bell and Mahon also gig in a covers lineup, which has through Barfoot & Thompson events raised $650,000 for Starship. Although someone once bribed them at a fundraiser to play There Is No Depression..., they shy away from playing the old Blam numbers without McGlashan. “We generally don’t do those songs – we prefer to play them all together.” • Blam Blam Blam, 4 November, Westlake Boys Auditorium. Tickets at community. westlake.school.nz
The Rangitoto Observer Page 6
October 28, 2022
Theatre company counts cost From page 1 props, give up rented storage space and put aside hopes of establishing a permanent base. Boniface told the Observer Greer’s guilty plea was a relief. “I wasn’t surprised because the case was pretty clear – there were no bones about it, he took the money and squirrelled it into various accounts to look like he was paying various suppliers.” But getting to grips with why has been harder for the tight-knit theatre group run by volunteers. “He was really a trusted pair of hands and friends with a lot of people.” Greer, who had served as voluntary treasurer since 2011, even met his wife through the company, Boniface said. The summary of facts presented to the court said Greer diverted money from Shoreside’s bank account from July 2019 until March 2020. In all, 49 fraudulent transactions were made, ostensibly to pay suppliers. The offending started around the time the company adopted internet banking. Greer and two other committee members were signatories to the account, with Greer having a log-on and password to access it. Boniface told the Observer that having signed off on invoice payments she was surprised to be contacted by a supplier saying one had not been paid.
NORTH SHORE
This occurred during the first Covid lockdown and she said she had trouble getting a response from Greer, who then told her the invoice had been paid. She discovered that the account number on the invoice did not match the account to which money had been paid. When three other discrepancies showed up, the police were called in and forensic accounting uncovered the scope of the offending. “We owed all these people money,” Boniface said. The company was left reeling, she said. Due to Covid, it was unable raise income from performances. It turned to Givealittle to fundraise for operational costs. Its 2021 Shakespeare summer season was cut short by a Covid lockdown, but it gained a lifeline in staging Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap the following August. Rights to the West End’s longest running show were available, due to the fact that much of the rest of the world had its theatres shuttered. “It was a very successful season and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Boniface. The company hopes its big earner, its annual Shakespeare productions at Lake Pupuke, will attract good audiences in January. Official records show Greer has twice been bankrupt, in 2004 (discharged in 2007) and in 2020. The building company he ran, BG Projects Ltd, was put into liquidation in 2019. It owed more than $500,000 to 22 unsecured creditors.
Sports Briefs Hoop high for schools Westlake Girls High School won the premier girls national basketball title and Rosmini College placed second at the Secondary Schools Nationals in Palmerston North this month. Both teams earlier won Auckland Secondary School Premier Championship titles. Westlake Girls were undefeated in their 30-game season across both competitions. They beat St Andrews College, from Christchurch, 99-66, to take the national title for the first time. Rosmini won every game leading into the national final, but fell short to Christchurch’s Christ’s College in the final, losing 5287. Westlake’s Mackenzie Chatfield was named the 2022 tournament’s MVP. She and Westlake teammates Izzy Pugh and Amy Pateman made the girls tournament team. Rosmini’s sports captain Charlie Dalton and Tom Beattie boys’ team picks.
Time to hit the beach The Beach Series begins for the season at Takapuna on 8 November, with hundreds of competitors of all ages expected to converge for competition each Tuesday evening until March. Running, swimming, and Stand-up Paddling are on offer of a range of distances. The long-running series attracts everyone from top athletes to recreational exercisers.
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The Rangitoto Observer Page 7
October 28, 2022
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The Rangitoto Observer Page 8
October 28, 2022
When Pupuke blew: expert tells tale of eruption
Hidden treasure... Dr Bruce Hayward points out the mighty hole left by an eruption-eviscerated kauri stump
The fossil forest of Takapuna – an often-overlooked feature along the popular coastal walk to Milford – is soon to be recognised in a book celebrating this country’s outstanding features. It is one of 100 special places chosen in the soon-to-be published Mountains, Volcanoes, Coasts and Caves: Origins of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Natural Wonders. The book’s author, retired geologist and marine ecologist Dr Bruce Hayward, this month undertook a walk and talk on the subject as part of Auckland’s Heritage Festival. More than 50 people gathered on a sunny weekday afternoon at the carpark at the northern end of the beach, where the forest remains are most obvious, for a walk to Thorne Bay and back. From those already familiar with how lava from the eruption of Lake Pupuke 150,000 years ago solidified amid what was then forest, to those hearing the story for the first time, all left with more knowledge after an insightful couple of hours. Hayward is also the author of Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide, so was well placed to answer questions. He pointed out the path of the lava flow and its impact on trees, including large kauri, which burnt out leaving tell-tale signs in the rocks. These range from stump-shaped holes, to the horizontal shape of felled trees and branches to lava blisters and caves. A large circular grill was explained to be a protective cover of what had once been a giant kauri’s trunk. Hayward also pointed out the flow of fresh water from Lake Pupuke that emerges in trickles from beneath the ground through rocks at Thorne Bay. Hayward, a former president of the Geological Society, has written 20 books in all, ranging across archaeology and histories of the kauri gum industry and Auckland cinemas, to his specialty subjects. Asked about the risk of more eruptions, he said the Auckland volcanoes were pretty much “plugged”, with future eruptions more likely to occur at as yet unknown new outlets on the field. With monitoring people could expect some warning before any future eruptions, he said His new book is due out in mid-November, published by Auckland University Press.
October 28, 2022
The Rangitoto Observer Page 9
Junior explorers... Jesse (4) and Max (5) Johnston from Campbells Bay joined the walk with their mother
On track... Lava rocks provide a record of the Pupuke eruption
The Rangitoto Observer Page 10
October 28, 2022
Ahoy there... From kayaks to Quest yachts to waka ama, a range of watercraft from Takapuna Boating Club were available during a weekend open day this month for prospective members wanting to have a go
Landlubbers get their feet wet at club open day
Beach mates... Mareike Schmidt (above, left) came over from the city for some outdoor activity with her University of Auckland German studies colleague, Devonport-based Diana Feick and (below) club member and outrigger fan Jo Keown, who lives in Takapuna, tries a new vessel with help from Riaan Erwee
You don’t have to be a potential Peter Burling to sign up to sailing, says the Takapuna Boating Club. Plenty of people who just want to potter about on the water proved this point recently, when the club held an open day. Some were trying sailing a Quest dinghy for the first time or giving other watercraft a go, ranging from surf-skis and canoes to stand-up paddleboards and waka ama. “The whole idea is to get people to be more active,’ says vice-commodore Wendy Baker. “It’s a great way to meet people too.” With summer edging closer, the club is one of a number on the North Shore gearing up for a mix of competition and socialising. Takapuna says interest in outdoor activities seems to have been piqued by Covid times, with people appreciating the ocean playground at their doorstep. Board member Mark Wooster says: “People are really keen to get out and learn to sail and paddle.” Club captain Barry Ward adds some are equally keen to reward themselves for their efforts, with a women’s paddle-and-pinot evening being one of the popular regular weekly events. Of the club’s 600 members, around 150 are social members only, content to admire the views from the deck or inside the clubrooms on The Strand. Those with full memberships can borrow club gear and get expert tuition. Ward acknowledges some clubs, such as Wakatere at Narrow Neck, focus more on competitive sailing. But Takapuna has invested in making sailing accessible including a Sunday club day and spring-summer series, which Wooster says appeals to adults “who don’t necessarily want to be with world-class yachties”.
The Rangitoto Observer Page 11
October 28, 2022
Free COVID antiviral medicines are available Free oral antiviral medicines are available for people at risk of becoming very unwell from COVID, and free RATs are available for everyone. Benefits of antiviral medicines Antiviral medicine can help people be less sick and stay out of hospital. The medicine must be taken within the first 5 days of having COVID symptoms to reduce the amount of virus in the body. Who can get antiviral medicines
When to get antiviral medications
Eligible people include:
To get the COVID antiviral medicines, all of these must apply:
• Māori or Pacific people aged 50 years or older
• you have COVID, or you are a household contact and have symptoms
• everyone aged 65 years and older • anyone aged 50 years or older who has had less than two COVID vaccinations • anyone with a severely weakened immune system, Down syndrome, sickle cell anaemia, or were previously in critical or high dependency hospital care from COVID. • anyone with three or more high-risk medical conditions. For the full list of high-risk medical conditions, visit Covid19.govt.nz/medicines
• your symptoms started within the last 5 days • you are eligible for the medicine. Your doctor, nurse, hauora provider, or local pharmacy can tell you if you are eligible and may provide you with a prescription. If your local pharmacy does not prescribe antiviral medicine, they can put you in touch with a pharmacy that does.
How to get antiviral medications If you have COVID you must isolate for 7 days. You can arrange to have medicines delivered by friends or whānau. If needed, pharmacies that provide COVID antiviral medicine can have them delivered to you, for free.
Free RATs Free rapid antigen tests (RATs) are available for everyone, and you do not need to have COVID to get them. You can order them online at RequestRATS.Covid19.health.nz and collect them at community providers, marae, testing centres, and some pharmacies, or have someone collect them for you.
Upload your test results, positive or negative, to MyCovidRecord.health.nz, or call 0800 222 478 and choose option 3.
Find out more at Covid19.govt.nz
The Rangitoto Observer Page 12
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The Rangitoto Observer Page 13
October 28, 2022
Voters had enough of not being listened to Often people will say they are angry, but not that angry to vote differently. But this time was different. In the end, people decided they had had enough of not being listened to, of closed-door meetings, congestion and their parks and open spaces being sold for private profit. When someone uses social engineering to increase congestion, but at the same time public-transport fares are increased, and 1500 buses a day do not make their routes, and funny but
expensive paint is splashed over the roads and footpaths, something had to give. When local culture and heritage is sacrificed for private profit something has to change. So communities rejected the wacky ideas that have come out of council, the frustrating and often inept council activities, the loony and the disruptive. Among the winners in this election was the Kaipatiki community, which elected a board from a single cross-party grouping, people who had listened and worked with the community to
Why is library called ‘ageing’?
get things done. Strangely, in Devonport-Takapuna, three hard-working community activists lost their seats. Jan O’Connor, Ruth Jackson and Trish Deans who have stood up for our community for years now. I can only surmise that in the rush for change from the Goff-era council, their reddish/pink billboards got crunched by the blue ones. But billboard colour does not always reflect true intentions. Grant Gillon
Northcroft Street upgrade
Put aside for now the claim that the Auckland Council is seriously short of funds. Could you please ask an objective expert in such matters to comment on the reasons for which Takapuna Library is described consistently as an “ageing asset”. After 114 years, the Ponsonby Library in the Victorian-era Leys Institute was closed for a seismic risk assessment in late 2019. As a public building erected in 1988, the wellused Takapuna Library is surely unique in the world for the fact that anyone, wealthy or penniless, can gaze at their leisure on a truly magnificent ocean view without any judgement on their fitness to do so. Let us not be too quick to be persuaded that “new” must be better or that a fresh approach must necessarily favour commercial interests over that egalitarian spirit. Z Misur
Have your say On the proposed design to upgrade Northcroft Street. With more people set to move to the neighbourhood, we want to improve the street environment and create a vibrant place where people want to live, work and visit. The proposed design was developed with feedback from community engagement during the testing and trialling phase. Your feedback will help us confirm a final concept design. Give your feedback by 20 November 2022
Write to the Observer We welcome letters. Please limit to 300 words on local topics. Noms de plume or unnamed letters will not be printed. Email news@rangitoto-observer. co.nz or write to Letters, PO Box 32 275, Devonport.
Draft visualisation - Northcroft Street To give feedback, visit:
akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ northcroft-street-upgrade
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The Rangitoto Observer Page 14
Arts / Entertainment Pages
October 28, 2022
Actors roll back the years and the music
Acting up... (from left) Lisa Chappell, director Stephanie McKellar-Smith, Elish Moran and Jodie Dorday are enjoying working together again in rehearsals for a play which takes them back to the 1980s A stand-out cast of leading actors say they are loving the freedom that comes with celebrating female friendship in an ensemble show set to open in Takapuna in November. Lisa Chappell, Jodie Dorday and Elish Moran are currently rehearsing the hit West End show Di and Viv and Rose, in which the 50-somethings play their richly varied characters’ younger selves, complete with a 1980s soundtrack they can all relate to. “Everyone will be tapping their feet,” predicts Chappell. The play tracks their interlinked lives and affections over the years in ways reminiscent of the criss-crossing of their own careers and that of director Stephanie McKellar-Smith. It is 25 years since North Shore-raised Chappell – who went on to star in the hit Australian television show McLeod’s Daughters – last worked with co-star and producer Dorday on an Auckland Theatre Company production. They renewed their friendship while living in Sydney in the early 2000s, when Chappell was at drama school and getting by with shop work. Dorday, daughter of Auckland cabaret legend Debbie Dorday, acted in both Sydney and Melbourne, and later lived in Bali where she too set up a cabaret. McKellar-Smith knew the women well before those days, having come through Theatre Corporate and Auckland Youth Theatre, but it was from her time in Christchurch that the
connection was made with Moran, a Court Theatre veteran. Chappell and Moran were invited to join the Fusion Productions play after Dorday’s original cast from a festival performance in Wellington in early 2020 could not be reunited for a northern tour, following a series of Covid delays. Third time lucky, it’s on at the intimate PumpHouse Theatre, which Chappell says is her “favourite place to work”. This is her second outing there in just two months, after a run in Campervan. Dorday says the venue is getting increasing attention as an ideal home for quality theatre. Jennifer Ward-Lealand, is directing a play there the week before Di and Viv and Rose opens. The PumpHouse suits audiences keen to return to live theatre but with some lingering hesitancy about travelling too far from home. “There’s an audience in Devonport and Takapuna that wants to see intelligent theatre,” says Dorday. The location is also appealing to the actors, with all bar Moran being based north of the Bridge. Chappell and Dorday both moved back to New Zealand around eight years ago. After living in Mairangi Bay, Chappell moved to Puhoi a year ago to experiment with tiny-house living. The country setting helps her focus on writing scripts. Dorday lives in Hobsonville Point and McKellar-Smith at Wellsford, with
a day job co-managing Centrestage Theatre in Orewa. Chappell said she was drawn to the play because “I loved the theme of female friendship – it’s something really important to me.” Talking to the Observer during a break in rehearsals, the women’s camaraderie is obvious. The lead crew members are female too. Dorday says the show has “a lovely warm nurturing female energy, which is unusual”. Playing the positive character of Rose was enticing to Chappell, because she reminded her of her younger days. “It’s so rare for a woman in her 50s to play someone who is 18. I think it was a challenge to see if I, as a menopausal woman, could find that energy.” The women say that despite competition for roles throughout their careers, the theatre world is largely supportive and forms a family of its own. “The world is our oyster now,” says Dorday. “I feel it’s the bringing together of Team Wahine Toa – PumpHouse pakeha style. Chappell says they are kept dexterous in their work by audience interaction. “The funny thing with audiences is they can literally interpret the shows – one night you do a rollicking comedy and then next it’s a serious drama.” • Di and Viv and Rose runs from 10-20 November at the PumpHouse Theatre, Takapuna. Tickets $35, with concessions available. Book at pumphouse.co.nz.
October 28, 2022
Arts / Entertainment Pages
The Rangitoto Observer Page 15
for fun of all-woman show WHAT’S ON @
Takapuna Library
ART EXHIBITION Ex-pat painter Douglas MacDiarmid’s Centenary Celebration From 3-29 November in the Angela Morton Room, Level 1. All welcome to the launch of his “Letters to Lilburn” on 16 November, 6.00 pm
TERM TIME CHILDREN’S EVENTS ARE BACK! Wriggle & Rhyme Every Monday, 10.00-10.30 Bring your little ones aged under 2 for songs, rhymes and bubbles.
That was then... Actors (from left) Jodie Dorday, Lisa Chappell and Elish Moran don their 1980s gladrags for a trip down memory lane
Weekly LEGO Time Every Tuesday, 2:30-4:30 Get creative in these free-build LEGO sessions - builders of all ages and experience levels are welcome to get stuck in and we’ll put all creations on display. Rhymetime Every Thursday, 10.00-10.30 Bring your little ones aged 2-5 - we’ll get our groove on with some of our favourite songs and rhymes.
SUSTAINABILITY
NOW SHOWING
Decision to Leave (Heojil kyolshim) (M) 138min NEW Frozen Reo Maori (G) 102min NEW The Night of the 12th (M) 115min NEW The Woman King (R13) 135min NEW Black Adam (M) 125min NEW Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold (M) 90min NEW Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (PG) 116min NEW The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Hot and Flustered Shadowcast (M) 28 OCT Disney’s Villain Film Fest: The Princess and the Frog (PG) 97min 29-30 OCT The Vic 110th Anniversary: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (G) 144min (Free) 30 OCT
SPECIAL EVENT
November 18, 2022, 11am-12pm An introduction to composting with worm farms. Come and discover how easy it is! Confirmed participants will receive a $40.00 discount toward the purchase of a composting system that can be redeemed online. This course is proudly supported by Auckland Council and delivered by the Compost Collective. Book at compostcollective.org.nz PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
Kathryn Robertson
COMING SOON
Munch: Love Phantoms and Lady-Vampires (E) 90min 3 NOV The Wonder (TBA) 103min 3 NOV Disney’s Villain Film Fest: The Emperor’s New Groove (G) 78min 5-6 NOV Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (TBA) 160min Night Before Preview 9 NOV
Residential Sales
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SPECIALS CHEAP TUESDAY ALL TICKETS $10 *EXCEPT PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
events@thevic.co.nz
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The Rangitoto Observer Page 16
October 28, 2022
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