THE STREAKER
The Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch
17/09/2016 - 22/10/2016
Production Details
Un-BARE-ably Funny Comedy Premières at The Court Theatre
The Streaker, the new comedy by Gregory Cooper and directed by Mark Hadlow, promises to have audiences in stitches in a play that tackles some big issues in an un-BARE-ably funny comedy.
Mark Wright plays Ron Hewlett, a middle-aged man who loses his call centre job and finds himself facing foreclosure on his home. When Ron hears a radio station is offering a million dollars to anyone who successfully streaks at the Super Rugby final he initially dismisses the idea; but as financial and familial pressure mounts, Ron must decide how far he’s willing to go.
Perhaps best known for his role in the Oddfellows TV commercials, decades of television work (from the Billy T James Show to the recent reboot of Terry Tio) and numerous theatrical productions around the country; The Streaker is Wright’s debut production at The Court. Wright returned to the stage last year in an Auckland production of 8GB of Hard-core Pornography – which courted controversy when the director cut a nude scene from the end of the play, invoking the writer’s ire. Wright is not expecting Hadlow to be as coy.
While Hadlow acknowledges that a play titled The Streaker has certain expectations, “the play isn’t just about streaking. There are deeper issues, which are pretty reflective of our society… Ron is a vulnerable man at a mid-life crisis point in his life, and it needs a pretty special actor to capture the ‘man down on his luck’ style that Mark is giving him.”
The Streaker’s cast includes Vanessa Wells as Ron’s wife, Linda; Chelsea McEwan-Millar as his daughter, Eva; Lynn Waldergrave and Associate of The Court Theatre Geoffrey Heath as Ron’s live-in parents, Bill and Llana; and Jared Corbin as Ron’s friend Murray, who somewhat overly-enthusiastically encourages Ron to streak. The play also includes “radio” segments featuring well-known radio personalities Simon Barnett, Gary McCormick, Lana Searle and Jason Gunn. “I called in a few favours,” says Hadlow.
When considering concepts for his next play, playwright Gregory Cooper was inspired by a friend’s story of a straight-laced relative who was egged on to streak at a cricket match and was absolutely mortified afterwards. “The story of someone sensible doing something very un-sensible appealed.” As he wrote, Cooper found that “nearly all of the characters were in some way trapped by society and sensibility… doing things they thought they had to do and not what they wanted to do.”
Hadlow is a frequent collaborator with Cooper. Hadlow starred in a hugely successful national tour of MAMIL (Middle Aged Man In Lycra) written by Cooper that was staged at The Court last year as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival. This year Cooper wrote two scripts for a national tour celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Navy: Hadlow directed both productions, with Cooper performing in one of the shows.
“Having just come from directing two other Greg Coopers I feel a bit like I’m in a Groundhog Day scenario: I eat, sleep, work and talk Greg Cooper constantly,” says Hadlow. “For anyone to put down on a page words that formulate themselves into a play and that are funny and have such resonance and make a statement about us as Kiwis is clever; to do it with constant regularity and meaningful content, like Greg does… He’s a bloody genius and a magician.”
With eight separate productions of his work staged around New Zealand and Australia in the past twelve months and another production of The Streaker scheduled at Centrepoint theatre later this year, Cooper is streaking ahead as one of New Zealand’s most prolific playwrights.
The Streaker debuts at The Court Theatre on 17 September and runs until 22 October. Audiences with issues around nudity are advised to avert their eyes or simply grin and bare it.
#thestreaker #courttheatre
Show contains coarse language, adult themes and nudity.
The Court Theatre, Christchurch
Tonkin & Taylor Main Stage
17 September – 22 October 2016
Show sponsored by PWC
Show Times:
Opening Night: Saturday 17 September, 7.30pm
Post Show Forum: Monday 19 September, 6.30pm
Matinée: Saturday 15 October, 2.00pm
Monday & Thursday: 6.30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday: 7.30pm
Bookings: phone 03 963 0870 or visit www.courttheatre.org.nz
Ticket Prices (Early bird prices available until 29 September):
Senior 65yrs+: $46-$54
Adult: $53-$61
Under 25: $34-$42
Child: $24-$32
Community Service Card: $34-$42
Group 20+: $46-$54
Supporter: $44-$52
Cast:
Mark Wright: Ron
Vanessa Wells: Linda
Geoffrey Heath: Bill
Lynn Waldergrave: Llana
Jared Corbin: Murray|Eddie
Chelsea McEwan-Millar: Eva|various
Production Team:
Gregory Cooper: Playwright
Mark Hadlow: Director
Nigel Kerr: Set Designer
Tina Hutchison-Thomas: Costume Designer
Giles Tanner: Lighting Designer
Sean Hawkins: Sound Designer
Christy Lassen: Properties Co-ordinator
Theatre ,
Dilemma-driven comedy
Review by Lindsay Clark 18th Sep 2016
Commissioned by The Court to write a ‘comedy with broad appeal’, gleefully inventive ex-improviser Gregory Cooper has produced a zippy romp, peopled for the main part with dependably humorous stereotypes and offering plenty of scope for director Hadlow to make the most of the plentiful laughs. The pairing worked well in Cooper’s MAMIL last year, where Hadlow was the solo actor, and their shared ability to tap into an audience’s readiness to be entertained is again on view in this première.
With the first half running at an hour and the second at forty minutes, the play spins its material boldly and fast. Ron is a good steady bloke at the centre of an unsurprising family – at least on first acquaintance when we meet them at that crucible of petty squabbles, the breakfast table. There is a frazzled wife, drooping teenage son and cute seven year old daughter as well as the grandfather in Y fronts.
Ron’s world really falls apart though as first redundancy and then unsuccessful job interviews and an uncooperative banker leave him stranded. His parents, Bill of the Y fronts and mother, a wild haired yoga queen, Llana, are no consolation. The family dog goes berserk in his presence and even the trusty Toyota gives up on him. Desperate times indeed.
It is Ron’s best friend, a determinedly persuasive accountant, who picks up on a local radio station’s offer of a million dollars for the streaker who can blast the length of the field in the home team’s coming rugby game, wearing the station logo on his backside. Wife is adamantly opposed, parents come up with a surprising perspective and events move rapidly to a dazzling conclusion, which cannot fairly be revealed here. Suffice to say that Ron’s story is ultimately less about money than about self assertion, rejecting the humdrum and tasting defiance.
There is no room for subtlety in this sort of carry on and characters are mostly heavily endowed with appropriate attitudes, ensuring ongoing entertainment. In the four principal roles, Mark Wright as Ron, Vanessa Wells as wife Linda, Geoffrey Heath and Lynn Waldegrave as the older generation, are all strong presences and flesh out their roles effectively. This is, of course, especially important for our engagement with Ron, whose trajectory shapes the play.
Doubling as friend Murray and son Eddie, Jared Corbin is kept very busy without falling into the caricature trap too often. Chelsea McEwan Millar, first seen as the ruthless and dismissive CEO, transforms neatly into the seven year old daughter Eva.
For the creative team, there is the challenge of establishing a playground for all the fun. Nigel Kerr’s set makes use of projected image which does not quite tie into the action for me. The wide stage seems under-dressed, with goings on concentrated in small patches here and there. A final splendid transition though does make sense of it all.
Tina Hutchison-Thomas with costume, Sean Hawkins for lighting and Giles Tanner’s sound design support character and action with the accustomed skill we have come to expect from this team.
Ron’s experiences are unlikely to inspire a swarm of streakers, but of course there is a happy ending and the audience which came expecting to be entertained leaves chuckling. This is a play rich in local allusion, but its light-hearted take on the adventure of streaking will have them chuckling wherever the comedic aspects of dilemma are enjoyed.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
Comments
J Levy September 18th, 2016
A very kind review. I saw this show on opening night, an ugly production with another drab set with annoying video work. Actors all trying hard as they could with the tired script. Just not good enough all round.