ELLING
The Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch
23/02/2019 - 16/03/2019
Production Details
COMEDY DUO REUNITE ON STAGE AT THE COURT THEATRE
After more than nine years since their last performance together, comedy double act Mark Hadlow and Ross Gumbley will be reuniting on stage this February in quirky comedy Elling.
Following two middle-aged misfits trying to make it work as mismatched flatmates, these real-life friends will be playing an odd-couple of epic proportions in this Norwegian play.
Hadlow’s Elling is a neurotic budding poet, while Gumbley’s Kjell is a career virgin and gentle giant who wants nothing more than to have sex. The pair become fast friends in a mental institute, before being thrown into the outside world with only each other to rely on.
Speaking about the story, director Lara Macgregor says, “the appeal of Elling comes from seeing two human beings who are struggling with mental health issues try to survive in a ‘normal living environment’ – and how that challenge brings them together to create a wonderful friendship.”
Elling is reuniting more than just Hadlow and Gumbley, with Macgregor re-joining her old friends to direct this production. She previously shared the stage with the pair in their last outing together, 2010’s Gods of Carnage.
“This is actually the first time I’ve directed either of them. Mark and I have been directed together by Ross a lot – and have actually played husband and wife three times!”
Gumbley, who is also The Court’s Artistic Director, has a milestone of his own in this production. Elling marks his first on-stage performance in almost a decade.
“Mark and I had been looking for a play that could reunite us on stage and when I saw Elling in Australia in 2009, I thought ‘I’ve never seen a role absolutely begging for Mark Hadlow to play it’.”
Hadlow, one of New Zealand’s most prominent actors (perhaps best known for his role as Dori in The Hobbit) is thrilled to be reuniting with his old friend and former co-star in this unconventional comedy.
“I’m delighted to be working with Ross again! We go right back to Flatmates Wanted in the 1980s, so it’s been over 30 years that we’ve known each other. It’s wonderful to be able to work with someone who you completely trust without any hesitation. You know, Ross and I… It’s a marriage, really,” he laughs.
Rounding out the cast are veteran performers Bruce Phillips, Gregory Cooper and Luanne Gordon, last seen together in Roger Hall’s Easy Money, playing a range of characters that interact with Elling and Kjell.
For Gumbley, the play is a fantastic, funny comedy with a poignant message that shouldn’t be missed.
“Elling is lyrical, touching, funny and honest – but also raises questions about the issues of under-funding mental health, which is particularly relevant for a New Zealand audience. It’s a comedy, but a comedy that has incredible heart and asks some serious questions.”
Hadlow agrees, saying, “If we can produce even ten percent of what the play is capable of, then I reckon it’s going to alter some views and maybe even make some changes – which is what theatre should be doing. Theatre should make us think; make us emotional and make us care about things that are important in our society.”
As for whether Hadlow and Gumbley are truly an odd-couple in real life, well…
“With the odd-couple, of course, there’s one straight one and one really odd one. Mark and I are still trying to work out which of us is the oddest!” Gumbley laughs.
Elling
The Court Theatre
23 February – 16 March 2019.
Monday & Thursday 6.30pm
Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat 7.30pm
Forum 6:30pm Monday 25th February Discuss the play with cast and creative team after the performance
Matinee 2:00pm Saturday 9th March
Ticket Prices: Adult $55.00 – $63.00
Senior 65yrs+ $48.00 – $56.00
Supporter $46.00 – $54.00
Group 6+ $48.00 – $53.00
Child (U18) $26.00 – $30.00
30 Below (limited numbers per performance) $30.00
Bookings: phone 03 963 0870 or visit www.courttheatre.org.nz
Cast
Elling Mark: Hadlow
Kjell Bjarne: Ross Gumbley
Alfons Jorgensen: Bruce Phillips
Frank Alsi/Poet: Gregory Cooper
Reidun Norsletten/Gunn/Johanne/Poet: Luanne Gordon
Creatives
Director: Lara Macgregor
Set Designer: Mark McEntyre
Costume Designer: Hayley Douglas
Lighting Designer: Joe Hayes
Sound Designer: Matt Short
Stage Manager: Jo Bunce
Theatre ,
Excruciatingly funny and engaging
Review by Lindsay Clark 24th Feb 2019
Breaking the chains that bind is undoubtedly a well-worked theme in theatre and, of course, life itself. The Elling character has appeared in Norwegian novels and film already. What distinguishes this singularly compassionate play is the nature of the chains, for here they crisscross the perilous territory of unstable minds and damaged personalities. Lara Macgregor’s fine direction and a superbly talented team make of it an excruciatingly funny and engaging piece of theatre.
Conditionally released from the Norwegian state institution which has brought them back to the threshold of ‘normality’, Elling and Kjell Bjarne are spectacularly mismatched as flatmates, but this is their only chance. They must deal with the routine of everyday living, be in reliable contact by phone with their social worker and generally eliminate the problems which saw them removed from society in the first place.
Elling, embodied with consummate skill by Mark Hadlow, has lived with and relied on his recently deceased mother for his 40 years. He suffers from acute anxiety and dizziness, distressed by human contact. The wardrobe is his sanctuary, his notebook a sole comfort.
His reluctant flatmate is lumbering Kjell Bjarne, labelled ‘orangutan’ by Elling and painfully obsessed by his own virginity in his middle age. Ross Gumbley creates the troubling innocence and physical discomfort of the man with superb skill. Both actors have the compelling sincerity which forces the audience to feel the pain of the situation even as we are helplessly laughing at its frequent absurdity.
Their interaction, gradual interdependence and eventual self-ease fuel fast-moving scenes as more characters come into play. These representatives of the ‘normal’ world sometimes confirm the essential isolation of our odd couple. This is so of the asylum nurse Gunn, played with almost vicious resignation by Luanne Gordon. She also plays waitress Johanne, who unwittingly inflames Kjell’s painful desires. Then there’s Frank Asli, the ineffectual if well-meaning social worker, nicely established by Gregory Cooper.
At other times, the world yields up more positive leads. Bruce Phillips is an authoritative silver-maned .Alfons Jørgensen, a bit like a wealthy fairy tale godfather, encountered by chance when Elling braves a bar. Through the encounter and those that follow, Elling outs as a budding poet – and for Kjell, car restoration and maintenance are a priceless gift. A scene where Elling attends a super intense and show-off poetry reading (more doubled roles here, all given full treatment) temporarily suspends the momentum of the play for me, but brings undeniable hilarity to the audience, who are of course unable to match the enthusiasm and conviction of the poets.
It is an upstairs tenant, though, who sets a seal on Kjell’s happiness and self-esteem. Reidun Nordsletten, played by the versatile Luanne Gordon, arrives under unusual circumstances at that time of universal madness and good will, Christmas Eve. The excesses of the time provide a neat context for the pair, now confirmed as best mates, to prove their normality.
Concept and cast are hugely supported by the creative team, especially as scene changes in full view are made a fluid part of our understanding by clever lighting design (Joe Hayes) and sound (Matt Short). Mark McEntyre’s set is beautifully functional, both for the real events and for the suggestive delusive elements of reality experienced by the flatmates. Hayley Douglas produces costumes that clearly translate nuances of character and situation, as well as the Norwegian setting of the play.
Norway, but really anywhere where mental health is a concern; that is anywhere where humanity is found. Some staggering statistics from our own country’s mental health system are quoted in the programme, but it is Mark Hadlow’s words which explain the commitment and conviction evidenced in every aspect of the production and which make it such a powerful experience. He says theatre “should be making us think, making us emotional and making us care about things that are important in our society.” Brave words, bravely interpreted.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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