Theatre
Happy Days
by Samuel Beckett
HERALD THEATRE, 20 August - 18 September
Life. She's up to her neck in it.
Amidst blazing light and scorched grass, Winnie is half-buried in a mound. Still she greets each day with a smile, rummaging around in her handbag, applying makeup, brushing her teeth and nattering away to her husband. She's always got a loaded revolver stashed away should it all get too much. Hers might not be the ideal life, but should a happy day come her way she'll seize it with both hands. Buried slowly beneath the mire of an indiffirent universe, Winnie offers the bravest response possible. She persists.
In Happy Days, Samuel Beckett's luminous simplicity and boldly imaginative vision deals with existence in a world where existence has ceased to exist. Ironic, funny, despairing and courageous.
Michael Hurst once again takes a modern masterpiece and distils its essence to produce a theatrical experience acutely insightful and unexpectedly moving. The magnificent Robyn Malcolm joins with old mate Cameron Rhodes to take us all to the brink in a tour de force performance of this legendary work.
featuring Robyn Malcolm and Cameron Rhodes
direction by Michael Hurst
for more information and to book tickets visit THE EDGE website or phone 0800 BUY TICKETS
Wrecks
by Neil LaBute
BACKYARD THEATRE, 29 Septemeber - 2 October
Meet Edward Carr, adoring father, successful businessman, grieving widower, chain smoker.
Under Agnew's direction, Todd Rippon (Avatar, King Kong, Shortland Street) portrays Carr as a likeable Kiwi businessman, reminiscing as he prepares for his wife's eulogy. With humour and honesty, he draws us into his life story, describing his passionate marriage to his beautiful, older wife Mary Jo, whose coffin sits in mute witness.
Like LaBute's other plays, Wrecks comes with a twist. By the time we understand how Edward has pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable in achieving his heart's desire, it's too late - we're already under his spell - just like Mary Jo was.
"Wrecks is bound to be identified by its shock value. But it must also be cherished for the moment-by-moment pleasure of its masterly portraiture. There is not an extraneous syllable in LaBute's enormously moving love story." - Linda Winer, Newsday.
featuring Todd Rippon
direction by Pinky Agnew
for more information and to book tickets visit the Backyard Theatre website or phone (04) 934 4068
Eros
by Caroline Lark
COURT THEATRE, 27 August - 25 September
Sex. Love. And everyone in between....
Polyamory: participation in multiple and simultaneous loving or sexual relationships. Take six hearts, minds and bodies, mix well, and enjoy a comedy of contemporary manners with a sexy and intriguing difference.
If you've ever thought having one relationship was hard work, see what happens when love goes six ways.
featuring Ali Harper, Laura Hill, Matt Hudson, Toby Leach, Clare Dougan and John Pheloung
direction by Yvonne Martin
for more information and to book tickets visit the Court Theatre or call (03) 963 0870
Krapp's Last Tape
by Samuel Beckett
THE BASEMENT THEATRE, 23 September - 10 October
Krapp's Last Tape is one of Samuel Beckett's most affecting works and depicts a world weary, old man listening to audiotapes he made as an eager, innocent, younger man.
Thanks to Auckland City Archives we are able to use original voice recodings of Edward Newborn from the 1985 Theatre Corporate production for this 2010 revival. "Having Edward listen to his own voice recorded 25 years earlier gives this production a rare authenticity and to the best of my knowledge is a world first," says director Paul Gittins.
We would like to acknowledge the kind support of Arts Alive in helping make this unique revival part of Auckland Heritage Festival.
featuring Edward Newborn
direction by Paul Gittins
for more information and to book tickets visit iTICKET Express.
Songs for Guy
by Kip Chapman
LIMELIGHT LOUNGE, AOTEA CENTRE, 7 - 11 September
The Moa Lives! in association with STAMP at The Edge presents Songs for Guy.
An evening of eclectic stories and love stories about gay men living in a small country on the edge of the world. Songs for Guy brings together some extraordinary stories about ordinary gay men's lives in New Zealand and presents them alongside some of the world's favourite love songs. Part humble storytelling and part sleek, bold cabaret, Songs for Guy is an evening to celebrate who we are and where we live.
The show explores all the aspects of our lives - from young love, to profound loss, to that guy you never quite got over - all presented alongside hits from Gershwin and Sondheim, to Springsteen and Wainwright.
This is your night. Come along. Laugh, smile and share your stories, in a musical evening made entirely for you.
featuring Todd Emerson, Andrew Laing and Stephen Butterworth
musical direction by Paul Barrett
direction by Kip Chapman
for more information and to book tickets visit The Edge or phone 0800 BUY TICKETS
The Vagina Monologues
by Eve Ensler
THE BASEMENT, 25 August - 11 September
They want to talk to you.
Searingly funny, sometime shocking, moving and unashamedly honest, Eve Ensler's seminal work The Vagina Monologues moves beyond embarrassment and fear and examines how "down there" is a means of female empowerment and the ultimate embodiment of individuality. These potent stories from a range of ages, ethnicities and sexulaities will make for a jubilant night at the theatre.
The Vagina Monologues will be presented in conjunction with the launch of The Silver Ribbon Foundation's Awareness Month in September, New Zealand's fledgling gynecological foundation.
featuring Beth Allen, Hannah Banks, Alison Bruce, Lisa Chappell, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Jacque Drew, Michele Hine, Gabrielle Henderson, Rachel House, Anna Julienne, Natalie Medlock, Rachel Nash, Toni Potter, Antonia Prebble, Sylvia Rands, Jodie Rimmer, Sophie Roberts, Fleur Saville, Fern Sutherland and Sara Wiseman
direction by Craig Hall, Caroline Bell-Booth, Rachel House and Sylvia Rands
for further information and to book tickets visit iTICKET or call (09) 361 1000.
Loss of SkyCity Theatre venue
Taken from the HZ Herald article by Bernard Orsman.
The SkyCity Theatre looks set to become a cabaret space or sports theatre, leaving a gaping hole in venues for the city's performing arts. SkyCity chief executive Nigel Morrison said: "We are probably not into cultural space. People expect casinos to be a bit more sports and entertainment."
He said SkyCity had made it clear that theatre users could book the theatre until the end of the year, but thereafter it could become a cabaret space with booths and tiered seating, or a sports theatre. Some works, like Four Flat Whites, a light-hearted play about two couples holidaying in Italy, had worked well but not serious culture. With an eye on doubling the number of days the theatre was used from 100 to 200, SkyCity was looking to more entertainers, singers, illusionists, magicians and celebrities.
Auckland Theatre Company general manager Lester McGrath said he understood SkyCity's business focus was changing, but losing access to the theatre would have serious implications for the region's flagship acting company...
Read the full article here.
August: Osage County
by Tracy Letts AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY, Maidment Theatre, 2 - 25 September.
Beverley Weston is an academic and poet of some renown.
When he suddenly goes missing, the clan gather at their family home in Osage County, Oklahoma,to confront their secrets, lies, abberations and the lacerating tongue of Beverly's wife, Violet.
With thirteen of New Zealand's finest actors, three acts and enough revelations to power several soap operas, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is a corrosively funny, brilliant, bitter indictment on where the American Dream went wrong.
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY has electrified audiences in New York and London, winning five Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
with Jennifer Ludlam, Stuart Devenie, Alison Quigan, Hera Dunleavy, Gareth Reeves, Peter Daube, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Andi Crown, Nancy Brunning, Andrew Grainger, Kevin Keys, Alistair Browning, Elizabeth McMenamin.
direction by Colin McColl
This Other Life
SILO THEATRE programme 2010
the ties that bind a family
the legacy of our ancestors
the dark shadow of the american dream
the infectious nature of optimism
the cataloguing of the human condition
the whole boy-hates-girl thing
THIS OTHER LIFE - JOURNEYS THROUGH EXISTENCE
still to come is:
24 July - 14 August ASSASSINS by Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman. Direction by Oliver Driver. Featuring Andy Grainger and Cameron Rhodes.
20 August - 18 September HAPPY DAYS by Samuel Beckett. Direction by Michael Hurst. Featuring Cameron Rhodes.
24 September - 16 October THOM PAIN [based on nothing]. Diretion by Peter Elliot. Featuring Oliver Driver.
26 November - 18 December GLORIUS. Direction by Shane Bosher.
For further information see www.silotheatre.co.nz.