Those who live in Newtown are very proud of their suburb, and will defend it to the death. Well so think a group of ex-Toi Whakaari drama students in their delightfully funny and entertaining production Big Trouble in Little Newtown.

Superhero Mouse (Jen Martin) and Superhero Prince Queen (Bianca Seinafo) become great mates at school and create a formidable duo to protect the supermarket, hairdressing salons and cafes in their beloved suburb of Newtown. 

But then they have a falling out at a crucial time when The Wang (Sam Wang), a Chinese entrepreneur, tries to take over the Newtown School for a casino – he sees great profit in problem gambling in the area. The Superheroes then bury their differences and after much hilarity they finally come through as the superheroes everyone expects them to be. 

Original and quirky, with linking scenes by an energetic News Reporter (Richard Osborne), the story unfolds at a good pace and although the Chinese accent is a little thick at times, the dramatic confrontations make for very entertaining theatre.
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 Big Trouble in Small Newtown is a highly enjoyable and whimsical comedy that achieves and largely maintains a balance between being light-hearted and not being quite so flip as to tumble into obscurity. 

The premise is simple, if a little offbeat: two unlikely Newtown superheroes must battle an armed villain and their own feelings of resentment and inadequacy in order to save Civic Video and defeat the merciless, mercenary Wang. 

Devised and performed by Jen Martin, Bianca Seinafo and Sam Wang, the play begins with Martin and Seinafo forming an unlikely bond as two young children in the school playground. What could have been a cringe-worthy physical depiction of adults-as-kids quickly becomes charming as the style of throw-away, knowing humour is implemented (“you’re weird” … “my brother says weird’s good. You just don’t find out until you’re older…”). The humour is effective, as are the acknowledgements of stage-devices, (“I can’t tell what you’re saying in my ear man, it just sounds like ‘psssst…pssst…pssst’”) 

All performers are energetic and enjoyable to watch, with Richard Osbourne’s ‘guest appearance’ on Newtown News being a crowd favourite. Sam Wang’s accent is so thick as to be incomprehensible at times and while this is incorporated into the script (“did you understand anything he just said?!”) it is nevertheless frustrating.

Nina Smith-Stevens’ and Theo Wijnsma’s set comprises of blackboards cut into the shapes of buildings, bearing a wet chalk depiction of the mural that runs along the corrugated iron fence on the outskirts of Newtown. This is simple and evocative of place. No credit is given to the makers of Wang’s folio box business models, but credit is due to the inspired karaoke bars and casinos that unfold. 

While the lights and sound are at times a touch incongruous, they are simple and effective as a whole. This is an entirely comprehensible and genuinely enjoyable piece of theatre and I look forward to seeing the group’s next invention.
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