A veteran of Wellington theatre, Sarah Delahunty is an award winning playwright. She has sought out these local productions that sparked her interest and hopes they spark yours too! You can contact Sarah via our Facebook page FACEBOOK.COM/SCENEWGTN
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I SSUE 6 | J ULY 2018 Th e Bon e Th i ef | S eed Th e L on eli est Wh ale i n th e W orld
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WGTN
ISSUE 6 JULY 2018
Director of both the Circa season and this present production is Kerryn Palmer. I asked her a few questions about the characters. There's one male actor who plays fourteen parts and four females. “Two sets of best friends,” Kerryn explains. “In each friendship, different aspects of fertility are explored. It's a minefield. And it's also very funny.” So the style is realistic? “Heightened realism. A lot is spoken directly to the audience. The characters say stuff that you wouldn't usually say out loud. For instance, what is going on in their heads when they have sex. Although it's very funny, the issues are very real. Some people who had been through fertility issues found it a hard watch.” In the original production, all involved were parents themselves - or, in one case, pregnant. But this time only one is a parent. “The reality of touring with children,” says Kerryn, “is that's it's pretty impossible!” This cast change makes for a different rehearsal experience. “But,” she says, “they are all coming up to the age when the biological clock becomes a thing.”
SEED BY ELISABETH EASTHER Playtime Theatre Directed by Kerryn Palmer Bats Theatre Tues 31st July – Sat 4th August 8pm TICKETS: $20/$15 BOOKINGS: www.bats.co.nz Fertility and infertility - both can be causes of heartbreak. Wrong timing. Right man but wrong sperm count. Right time, wrong ovaries. Failed contraception, failed relationships, mistakes and miscarriages.... As the playwright Elisabeth Easther said in a 2014 New Zealand Herald article: “The irony for many of us is having tried so hard to not get pregnant for so long - and failing sometimes, if we're honest, and dealing with that too - we suddenly find it so complicated to make a child when we do want one. It just doesn't make any sense.” Seed won the Adam New Zealand Play Award in 2014. Had a season at Circa Theatre in 2015 and is now on an Arts On Tour NZ tour before finishing up at Bats Theatre at the beginning of August. It's a play whose truth resonates with audiences. Rightly so. Elisabeth Easther drew on her own experiences and that of those around her when writing it. As she said in the same Herald article, “ Why is it that people are said to"fall" pregnant, like it's something that takes no effort at all, like tripping over a log? For many people falling pregnant is much more of a struggle than the verb implies.”
I spoke to Emily Regtien, who was in the 2015 Circa production and will also be on the tour this time round. A mother of three herself, the issues of the play feel very real to her. “So much of a woman's life from puberty to menopause is about not getting pregnant, or getting pregnant - whether to have one, two,three.... or no children. At times in your life, it consumes.” As a performer, she feels one of the tricky elements is the balance between humour and heart-wrenching sadness. Some of the humour, she says, is dark. And the use of monologues directly addressed to the audience is challenging for an actor. But Emily loves the telling of stories.“ Elisabeth Easther has written a strong piece with four well-rounded, staunch, believable females in their thirties and forties. Not many plays provide that, so it's a gift to do.” And Seed provokes thought and discussion. Kerryn has taught it several times as part of a New Zealand theatre course at Victoria University, and students have loved that there are so many issues in there that they haven't ever considered. Kerryn feels that fertility, along with such subjects as miscarriage, stillbirth, breastfeeding, abortion and post-natal depression, are still issues not discussed openly in New Zealand. Perhaps, as the play travels from cities such as Tauranga and Hamilton, to small towns such as Whitianga, Blenheim and Twizel, discussion on such topics will be opened up for audience members. Topics that matter so much to so many people.
Seed, she says, is ultimately about family and friendship. Both things that matter, in some way, to all of us.
THE LONELIEST WHALE IN THE WORLD WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY HILARY PENWARDEN Bats Theatre Wed 10th July – Sat 14th July 6:30pm TICKETS: $20/$14 BOOKINGS: www.bats.co.nz
Hilary says she identifies with this - a sad loser destined to be single forever. A Twitter comment alerted her to this whale's existence. They seemed two of a kind. Took her a few years to get the guts to put her story onstage, but she doesn't think she's alone in her loneliness.
There's funny stuff in it too though. Possibly no actual whale appears. But both Hilary and the 52 Hertz are wanting to reach out through their songs.
The show is structured around songs -writing them was a first for Hilary. And storytelling. But the whale stories are a thin veil - as she jokes,“It's all about me, baby.” “The versions of me that I show people when I want people to think I'm confident or funny, the versions of me when I'm feeling at my worst, the versions of me when I'm at my
And in keeping with most classic stories, there's a strong element of metaphor attached. “Audiences won't have to look very far to see there's a clear metaphor in The Bone Thief about the dangers of greed, capitalism and working class exploitation,” says Cassandra. “The townsfolk are suffering from an economic downturn after the (literal) collapse of their main industry, mining. This is the sort of environment in which it becomes difficult to look after our most vulnerable. This is a world, like our own, in which social value is very much tied to material wealth.”
RED SCARE THEATRE COMPANY Written by Cassandra Tse Music by Bruno Shirley Gryphon Theatre Thurs 12th – Sat 14th July, Tues 17th – Sat 21st July 7:30pm TICKETS: $25/$20 BOOKINGS: Eventfinda Off to a good start with this one – the Red Scare title of their production company does reflect their socialist leanings. I had hoped so – but in this day and age it seemed more likely to refer to something that went viral online or whatever...
The Bone Thief is the original idea of composer Bruno Shirley. Red Scare artistic director Cassandra Tse was excited by the project, but only became the writer/lyricist in January this year - and the show was programmed for July. Obviously then, the process has been a bit of a whirlwind. “I wrote the book and lyrics first,” Cassandra explains. “And Bruno's music came afterwards. As it is a through-composed work, he had an incredible amount to do. It's certainly the fastest I've ever had to write something, and in full rhyming verse too.” It was originally pitched as a “metal musical” by Bruno - a big classic rock and metal fan. There was a need to find a narrative that suited that music style. Described as a dark
I asked if Hilary thought there can be strength in being a woman alone. She agrees there can, though feels woman are socialised to be the harmony bringers, and there is a lot of pressure for them to be “expert hosts, friends and lovers.” And that the “lone-wolf” archetype that is often used as an image of loneliness is coded as very male. “But I identify as non-binary and have a lot of questions about my gender identity. That's another subject that comes into the show. No one knows for sure what species the 52 Hertz whale is because the song it sings is so unusual. That resonates with me. I often feel that I struggle relate to others because I don't identify with the boxes they try to put me in.”
Yes, that should do it.
So - good one, Cassandra and Bruno.
And the show is self-directed. Well, that makes sense. Lonely whales don't have support teams.
Hilary Penwarden first became aware of the 52 Hertz whale four years ago. It's the first I've heard of the creature. Apparently her mating calls have been tracked for decades but no-one has ever seen her. Fifty two hertz is too high a frequency for other whales to hear so the theory goes that she's doomed to be alone forever.
fairy-tale, it's set in the non-specific “past”of an old exmining town where a monster preys on young children. Aletta, a girl with a life of privilege, teams up with an orphan boy and they set off to hunt the beast...
THE BONE THIEF
most joyful. A lot of this play has been about me figuring out who I am and what I have to offer the world.”
So, no traditional musical. More like a political, metal, rock opera perhaps...? “Music is the language these characters speak,”adds Cassandra.“There's an even balance between stand-alone songs and musical scenes in the score, and each serves a different purpose. The stand-alone songs tend to express or expound upon a character's internal emotional state, while musical scenes serve the same purpose as dialogue in a straight play.”
“Through music, I can better connect the audience with the idea of this whale singing it's mating call into a vast abyss with no one to answer it. But of course, I'm not a whale, I'm a person in a room surrounded by people and hopefully, by sharing the songs, we can all feel less alone together.” Sounds ideal for all us 52 Hertz humans.....
Just out of Newlands College this year and studying law and political science, Kiya starred in her last three school musicals. No formal training, but grew up in a musical household and obviously is no beginner. She loves to be on stage and sounds super-enthusiastic about this opportunity. “The most exciting thing would have to be the music. Hearing Cassandra's lyrics with Bruno's score for the first time, it surprised me how badly I wanted to rock out to a fairy-tale musical. Rehearsals are filled with head-bangs and harmonies. Mixing rock and musical theatre is gold. The musical theatre side offers all the pretty, show-off-y notes, while the rock makes the singing ten times more fun because rehearsals are like mini-concerts.” And what about her role within the story? More enthusiasm from Kiya. “In the past I've played female roles that typically lacked substance, or always had the underlying goal of pursuing a man -ha-ha!Without giving too much away, this story is about friendship and a young girl showing how bad-ass she can be.” I'm definitely in, Red Scare Theatre Company - you're ticking all my boxes!
The most challenging aspect for Cassandra and Bruno was having to start pretty much from scratch in January. But once the team was on board, Cassandra was able to relax. “Alick Draper, our director, has been on the same page as me from the very beginning of our collaboration and I trust him completely. The six actors we have cast are all brilliant.” I talked to one of this brilliant cast. Kiya Basabas who plays the lead, Aletta.
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