Touch Wood
Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
19/10/2010 - 23/10/2010
Production Details
Add the milk of a cow, pheromones of a lonely man, blood of a virgin, a splash of hot-headed gypsy magic and what do you get? Nothing too scary……..touch wood.
On a quiet farm in Taranaki, two trespassing gypsies turn the tame world of Bruce (Jonathan Brugh) and Roberts (Ash Jones) upside down. Miss Lovel (Sara Allen) and Tuva (Katie Scott) crack open a new world that the boys are unwillingly drawn into, and from sunset to sunrise this kooky foursome bungle towards something much bigger than themselves.
The eccentric characters, explosive scenes and one very painted animal make for one dirty, dark and spectacular show – set to be the one to watch this spring.Sneaky Giraffe Theatre Productions present the premier season of the original New Zealand theatre work TOUCH WOOD, written by Katie Scott and directed by Patricia Phelan. Kick-starting their New Zealand tour TOUCH WOOD will be presented at Auckland’s eclectic inner city theatre The Basement October 19th – 23rd 2010.
Jonathan Brugh is an award winning comic known for his roles in Jaquie Brown Diaries, Shortland Street and Amazing Extraordinary friends. Jonny writes and performs his own work most notably ‘My Brother and I are Pornstars’, which toured New Zealand, Australia and the UK and ‘Sugar & Spice’ his award winning comic duo of 10 years. ‘Atrocities’, Sugar & Spice’s play about normality, was produced by Auckland Theatre Company. Jonny is currently touring his solo show ‘The Second Test’.
Ash Jones, who plays Robert, has been performing since a young age. His highlights in 2010 include Tom Sainsbury’s production TALK at the Herald Theatre in Auckland, playing Algenon in The importance of Being Earnest (Auckland Theatre Company), The Last Taniwha, and Up Close Out Loud with Massive Theatre Company. He has recently worked alongside Geoffrey Rush and Cate Blanchett in the soon to be released Warriors Way.
Songwriter, musician, actress, co founder of Sneaky Giraffe Productions and creator of Touch Wood, Katie Scott graduated from Unitec’sSchool of Performing and Screen Arts in 2008. Katie was invited into GALSCO, an American theatre company in 2009 to travel to Colorado to collaborate and perform in two plays, Katie’s travels across America inspired the TOUCH WOOD script.
Sara Allen an Acting graduate from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in Wellington takes on the role of Miss Lovel in TOUCH WOOD. Recently nominated for ‘Most Promising Female New Comer’ at the 2009 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards for her role in the STAB production Death and the Dreamlife of Elephants directed by Leo Gene Peters.
Director Patricia Phelan has worked for The Outfit Theatre Company, MF Films, South Pacific Pictures and Superfumes Productions. Her most recent career highlight was working with Taika Waititi on his new TV show Super City. Graduating from Unitec’s School of Performing and Screen Arts with a Directing major in 2009, Patricia is the second co founder of Sneaky Giraffe Productions and the Producer and Director of Touch Wood.
TOUCH WOOD plays
Tuesday 19th – Saturday 23rd October 8:00pm
The Basement, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland CBD
Tickets: Adults $20 / Concession $18 / Students $15 /
Bookings of 6x Adults or more $18 per ticket
Tickets available through iTICKET
CAST
Bruce: Jonathan Brugh
Robert: Ash Jones
Miss Lovel: Sara Allen
Tuva: Katie Scott
CREW
Writer: Katie Scott
Producer/Director: Patricia Phelan
Publicity: Patrica Phelan/Lucy Zhou/Katie Scott
Lighting Design: Stuart Phillips
Sound Design: John Paul Carroll
Stage Manager: Lucy Zhou
Photographer: Sacha Stejko
Flier Design: Jonathan Brugh
Program Design: Amy Pollard
Amusing shenanigans
Review by Nik Smythe 20th Oct 2010
In the deepest bush of a remote New Plymouth farm, dastardly esoteric plans are afoot…
The simple-ish and wholly unique plot resembles something of a quintessentially Kiwi, adult Badjelly the Witch, including the story-driving event of Bruce’s prize cow going missing. As he needs to sell her to pay the Mortgage so he doesn’t lose the farm, Bruce sets out in search of Daisy and finds himself entangled in the freaky new-age gypsy antics of the strange women in his bush.
As directed by Patricia Phelan, the characters are clownish caricatures of recognisable types – Bruce (Jonathan Brugh) the serious, gruff middle aged farmer; Fred Dagg (Bruce Bayliss perhaps?) with shorter hair and an earnest streak, and 20 year old Robert (Ash Jones), the newly hired naive, well-meaning cocky whose lovable bumbling makes you want to hug him and slap him at the same time.
The female characters, not being reticent Kiwi bloke types, have more naturally extreme personalities. Miss Lovel and Tuva, indulgently performed respectively by Sara Allen and playwright Katie Scott, are skittishly calculating gypsy ladies hiding in the deep bushland on Bruce’s land with an initially mysterious agenda. Of the four roles, Miss Lovel’s is more ringmaster to the other three clowns.
There is plenty of quite delightful light-and-dark amusement throughout the 80-odd minutes that keeps the crowd chuckling happily, including an irritating automatic phone teller, a drug-induced tuatara transformation and a 100% imagination cow named Daisy, virtually as deep and real as the visible characters.
Ultimately though, the characters and their relationships play out from the promising set-up through a fairly repetitive series of events to an underwhelming conclusion. If the pace was tightened and the largely stereotypical characters could be developed into people more believable and sympathetic then the effect of the story’s classically gruesome twist would be more lasting. More convincing stage fighting would also help.
Stuart Phillips’ lighting design is somewhat compromised by the almost constantly glowing on-stage fairy lights, a pleasant effect in itself but limiting the dynamic possibilities of blackouts and scene separations. John Paul Carroll’s catchy and original sound design does lend some necessary depth and enhancement to the amusing shenanigans of the crazy girls and their hapless captives.
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