Vol. 2 No. 3 Apr 2016 Roger Hall’s YOU CAN ALWAYS HAND THEM BACK Music and lyrics by Peter Skellern THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS FUNDERS PRINCIPAL CORE FUNDER PARTNERS PRESENTING FUNDER PARTNER UNIVERSITY Artistic Director's Note Artistic Director Colin McColl M A J O R SUPPORTERS It's extraordinary to think that You Can Always Hand Them Back is for forty years Roger Hall has been a collaboration between Roger and entertaining us with his comedies. For Peter Skellern – distinguished UK forty years he’s charted New Zealand’s singer/songwriter – and has enjoyed social history and presented it to us tremendous success throughout New MEDIA as an entertaining and assured "good Zealand and in England. PARTNERS night out", with lots of laughs, lots of For this Auckland premiere we’re heart and a few home truths. From the lucky to have gathered a talented team early days of Glide Time and Middle Age of Hall “veterans”. Director Janice Spread through to recent hit comedies Finn and actors Darien Takle and like Who Wants to be 100? and Four Peter Hayden are all superb exponents PARTNERS SUPPORTING Flat Whites In Italy, Roger is without a of Roger’s work. Huge thanks to doubt NZ’s best-loved playwright, so them and to music director Jason Te it’s a great delight to present his latest Mete (who also appears as the third Q Theatre work for you. character in the play), choreographer SKYCITY Theatre You Can Always Hand Them Back Jeremy Birchall, set designer Rachael Herald Theatre PARTNERS puts the “grand” into grandparenting. Walker, costume designer Lisa 2016 VENUE In today's frenetic economic climate, Holmes, lighting designer Phillip how would many mothers and Dexter and AV designer Simon fathers maintain their busy working Barker: a top team to bring you top lives if it wasn’t for the generosity of entertainment. ATC Patrons and Supporting Acts 2016 2016 grandparents – who often give up their Enjoy! own careers, hobbies and interests to BENEFACTORS care for their grandchildren. 1 Director's Note Director Janice Finn Chances are a great many of you factor, first with the aches and pains who are reading these notes will that strike as the tiny babies morph have come to see You Can Always into tubby toddlers, followed by the Hand Them Back because it’s a play by inevitable ticking of the clock that Roger Hall. Roger has delighted and seems to be gathering speed. amused audiences for forty years, This is the sixth Roger Hall play proving time and time again that I have directed and again it’s been New Zealanders can’t get enough a pleasure. If you enjoyed Darien of his recognisable take on the lives Takle and Peter Hayden in ATC’s of ordinary Kiwis. This joyful and Lysistrata you will love seeing them poignant offering, with great music together again, this time as Grandma by Peter Skellern, covers twelve and Grandpa rocking it up to Peter years in the lives of a retired couple Skellern’s clever score played Left Field wines, who – hurray! – finally become impeccably by our pianist and musical grandparents. But this longed for director, Jason Te Mete. This talented birthplace of state isn’t all koochikoo, kisses and cast and our fantastic creative team cuddles. The initial celebrations led by set designer Rachael Walker, the unexpected, are followed by the stark reality of lighting designer Phillip Dexter and babysitting: crying babies, dirty choreographer Jeremy Birchall have nappies, toddlers’ tantrums, sleepless worked their butts off to bring you the weird and the nights, not to mention the cost of this funny, moving, energetic and prams promised in the first flush of memorable piece of classic Roger Hall. wonderful. Enjoy Left Field responsibly. grandparental pride. Age is a constant My heartfelt thanks to all of them. leftfieldwines.com 2 LF1504-861_atc_advert_210x148mm.indd 2 16/04/15 1:05 PM CAST Kath — Darien Takle Maurice — Peter Hayden Pianist — Jason Te Mete CREATIVE Director — Janice Finn Musical Director — Jason Te Mete Choreographer — Jeremy Birchall Set Designer — Rachael Walker Costume Designer — Lisa Holmes Lighting Designer — Phillip Dexter MSc AV Designer — Simon Barker Sound Designer — Jason Smith PRODUCTION Production Manager — Robert Hunte Company Manager — Elaine Walsh Stage Manager — Sami Vance Technical Manager — Nik Janiurek Technical Operator — Rochelle Bond Set Construction — 2Construct Sound Engineer — Arran Eley Props Master — Amy Snape BY ARRANGEMENT WITH AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR HELP WITH THIS PRODUCTION: Aaron Paap and the team at University Event Services. You Can Always Hand Them Back is the second Auckland Theatre Company mainbill production for 2016 and opened on April 2nd at SKYCITY Theatre. The production is approximately 1 hour 47 minutes plus a 20 minute interval. Please remember to switch off all mobile phones, pagers and watch alarms. 4 THE FULL HALL: A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROGER HALL AND ATC BY SIMON PRAST ate last year I had the play Market Forces for a season at the privilege of a sharing an Herald Theatre and, due to actual Lexquisite lunch at Orphan’s market forces and the demand for Kitchen with Simon Wilson, Roger’s play, we had to transfer the Ray Henwood, Janice Finn, season to the Maidment mainstage. Briar Grace-Smith, and Philippa Going from 186 seats to over 400 Campbell. Our guest of honour seats was a significant step in the was Roger Hall. history of the company, and helped ATC staff and audiences alike see Simon Wilson asked me “what that we were stepping into the big was Roger to Auckland Theatre league. So Roger has played a major Company? He was obviously part in ATC’s development from the important.” start. The answer to that took me right ATC’s fifth play was Roger’s back to the beginnings of ATC. By Degrees, which starred Ilona Market Forces is key to the story of Rodgers, Jude Gibson, Rachel Auckland Theatre Company, because House and Judie Douglas (Roger we started from nothing and had to writes great parts for women). Cathy earn our way into credibility. We had Downes directed and Tracy Grant- originally programmed Roger Hall’s Lord designed. 6 7 I asked Ilona about her quotes him as saying: "The ATC memories of the play. She recalls audience is really my demographic “four women, each talking to the ... I am a chronicler of the times, audience about their experience of and I represent the theatre-going being a mature university student. (person) and the stories that affect I loved these monologues and those people are the ones that I how they blended and coalesced write and reach them with." seamlessly, each one moving the To demonstrate how prolific, audience along. I never thought I prodigious, prescient (and would be a mature student then, profitable!) a chronicler of our but nine years later there I was at times Roger has been, here a full list Clockwise: Simon Prast, Roger Hall, and University! In my first semester, of those of his plays that featured Janice Finn at the Orphan's Kitchen lunch I kept thinking ‘oh I've already done on ATC’s playbill: this!’, although my character was doing history and I was doing Arts 1994: By Degrees Management. In my first round of 1996: Market Forces research, I remembered one of the 1997: Social Climbers At the Orphan’s Kitchen lunch, first play more or less around the women in the play talking about 1999: The Bookclub I related my experience as actor same age as Chekhov, so I have a READING TOO MUCH and going 2001: Take a Chance on Me in one of Roger’s most famous feeling that the mid-thirties is the into overload; thank goodness I 2003: Middle Age Spread plays: “I’m remembering in Glide time to start! But – if my work is remembered that and got more 2004: Spreading Out Time, playing Hugh. He basically called Chekhovian, I can have no strategic. My character got Honours 2005: Taking Off said, ‘well, I’m going to stay with higher praise.” and so did I! It was life imitating 2007: Who Wants to be 100? my wife’ and there was a look… Roger’s gift to us all is his art…” 2008: Who Needs Sleep Anyway Theresa Healey was playing Beryl uncanny ability to conjure That interplay of life and art 2009: Four Flat Whites in Italy and it was a Chekhovian moment characters we know. We recognize has always been Roger Hall’s forte. 2012: A Shortcut to Happiness where this woman had been, you their hopes and dreams; we laugh know, playing along with this man, at their foibles, because we can To that list, but when push came to shove, he see them in ourselves and in each we now add was staying with his wife and so other; and, as with poor Beryl “Roger’s work is perfectly suited tonight’s show: Beryl’s heart broke… on stage. It above, we feel their pain. That is to the audience ATC aims to 2016: You Can was such a big dramatic moment.” why Roger Hall is New Zealand’s Always Hand Simon Wilson said “that must be most popular playwright. connect with” Them Back. nice to hear, Roger, a Chekhovian Roger Hall’s contribution to Many of these moment.” the early and ongoing success of productions Roger’s reply? “Well, I have ATC is unrivalled. Roger knows In an article published in 2002 to went on to tour the North Island, the same birthday as Chekhov his audience and, for over two celebrate ATC’s tenth anniversary, proving the enormous audience (January 29) so quite clearly decades now, to the mutual delight “Take A Chance On Us”, writer Dita reach and enduring popular there’s a connection.” Over the of the Auckland Theatre Company di Boni points out that Roger’s work reputation of the playwright, for laughter, he added “I’m very and Auckland theatre-goers, the is perfectly suited to the audience all New Zealand audiences, not proud that I have the same audiences have come and come ATC aims to connect with.