Vol. 3 No.2. March 2017 March No.2. 3 Vol. PEER STAGE ON GYNT [recycled] BY ELI KENT PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL 1 THANKS TO THE SUPPORTERS OF AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY THEATRE AUCKLAND SUPPORTERS OF THE THANKS TO 2 0 17 SUPPORTING MEDIA MAJOR SUPPORTERS CORE PRESENTING PRINCIPAL BENEFACTORS PARTNERS PARTNERS FUNDER PARTNERS FUNDERS ATC PATRONS AND ACTS SUPPORTING PATRONS ATC FUNDER Telecommunications Partner UNIVERSITY PRINCIPAL PARTNER PARTNER A freshapproachtoICTmanagedser vices judgement of oneself.” ofoneself.” judgement istositin to write trolls in with istowar live “To heart andsoul; — Henrik Ibsen [recycled] CAST Peer #1 / Thomas / Ghost Writer #1 / Ensemble — Oscar Wilson Mads / Peer #2 / Jason / Milo / Captain / Ensemble — Jordan Mooney Troll King / Dr Griffin Feldt / John / Peer #3 / James Cameron / Ensemble — Adam Gardiner Eli / Peer #4 / Strange Passenger / Ensemble — Jack Buchanan Mad’s Mum / Peer’s Mum / Terry Richardson / Anatta / Ensemble — Lisa Chappell Huhu / Simone / Air Hostess / Boatswain / Nurse / Ensemble — Brynley Stent Troll Child / Andrew / Ghost Writer #2 / Ensemble — Benjamin Henson Inka / Troll Princess / Phillipa / Air Hostess / Angel / Ensemble — Ella Gilbert Sol / X / Mattie / Starbucks Employee / Ensemble — Ana Scotney Photographer / The Boyg / Ibsen / Button Moulder / Ensemble — Peter Hayden Eli’s Mum — Katherine Baxter CREATIVE Director — Colin McColl | Assistant Director — Benjamin Henson Dramaturg — Philippa Campbell | Set Designer — John Parker “Inside Eli’s play, with Costume Designer — Nic Smillie | Music & Sound Designer — Eden Mulholland its wild imaginings Lighting Designer — Bryan Caldwell | AV Designer — Simon Barker and sometimes PRODUCTION monstrous reflections, Production Manager — Robert Hunte | Company Manager — Elaine Walsh Technical Manager — Nik Janiurek | Venue Technical Manager — Josh Bond lies a simple and Stage Manager — Kirsten Lee | Assistant Stage Manager — Lucie Everett-Brown beautiful hope - that Lighting Operator — Michael Craven | Sound and AV operator — Zac Howells Props Master — Amy Snape | Flyman / Mechanist — Michael Keating being together in Wardrobe Assistant — Ruby Read | Set Construction — 2Construct the theatre tonight accompanying our reckless recycled By arrangement with Presented in association with Peer on his epic Thanks to the ATC Patrons for their support of the original commission from Eli Kent in 2014. journey, will bring us AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR HELP WITH THIS PRODUCTION: Reuban Turner, Leon Wadham, Alison Bruce, Victoria Abbott, all to ‘somewhere new, JJ Fong, Christina Riisnes, Kristian Eek, New Zealand Stunt School, The Cut (Dominion Rd), somewhere helpful’.” The New Zealand Kunekune Association, Chris Brown and CP solutions. Peer Gynt [recycled] is the first Auckland Theatre Company mainbill production for 2017 and opens on – Dramaturg Philippa Campbell March 9th at ASB Waterfront Theatre. The production is approximately 3 hours 10 minutes including a 20 minute interval. Please remember to switch off all mobile phones, pagers and watch alarms. 2 3 Photo credit: Michael Smith Michael credit: Photo Artistic Director Colin McColl Playwright Eli Kent ORIGINALLY INTENDED he really exist? Did all these resist. I knew there was no WHEN WRITING THIS dangerous? When is truth... who were instrumental at as a long dramatic poem, adventures of his really “correct” way to interpret PLAY I was often reminded actually...um... various stages throughout this sprawling, picaresque happen? What’s true and this work, no “accepted” of the first play I ever In all honesty, it feels a this play’s bizarre journey: masterpiece that spiralled what are lies? What is reality style of presentation, but I loved: Rosencrantz and little strange trying to write (in alphabetical order sorry recklessly from the mind and what is illusion? Is this needed a Kiwi playwright Guildenstern Are Dead, a writer’s note about a play no favourites) and imagination of Henrik theatre? What is theatre? who could take on the depth in which the mercurial that is in many respects Victoria Abbott, Kirstie Ibsen one hot Italian Like all great sustaining and breadth of the work and character of ‘The Player’ one giant writer’s note. And Baxter, Eleanor Bishop, Sam summer in 1867 is famously works of theatre that earn make it their own. Eli Kent claims “We’re actors. We’re then to start writing about Brooks, Milo Cawthorne, unstageable. Despite this, it the right to be deemed was always going to be the the opposite of people!” A that writer’s note within Eddy Dever, Laurel Devenie, quickly entered the canon classics, Ibsen’s Peer Gynt man I needed. He’s taken the play about art versus reality. the writer’s note itself. Apt Chye-Ling Huang, Robin of European theatre classics is thick with theme. And its Ibsen quote “To live is to war A play about bit-players with perhaps, as we are about to Kerr, Murray Lynch, Rachel and 150 years later is one of excoriating exposé of the with trolls in heart and soul; ideas above their station. cross the event-horizon of Marlow, Molly O’Shea, Ibsen’s most produced works. culture of narcissism seems to write is to sit in judgement It seems that the very form self referential meta-theatre Georgie Silk, Rosabel Tan, of oneself” as the genesis of of theatre might have ideas and be sucked deep into the Leon Wadham – Heroes ALL! his recycled version and in a above its station. Theatre In Willy Russell’s charming very clever, funny, meta- pleads with us to believe theatrical way has worked comedy Educating Rita, the it, but is so easily undone himself and Ibsen into the by reality. A live animal on university professor poses the Peer story, wrestling with “We are about to cross stage for instance threatens this genius work to make question: “How would you solve the constructed reality of the event-horizon of self it his own. Both Ibsen and a theatrical piece because the staging problems in Ibsen’s our core character are referential meta-theatre it doesn’t know how to self -obsessed. Self is at Peer Gynt?” His sassy student lie. Writer Peter Handke and be sucked deep into the the heart of the piece yet put it this way: “…in the replies “Do it on the radio”. beneath the Ibsen play tesseract of postmodernist theatre, light is brightness is an urgent questioning Fair enough! pretending to be other navel-gazing. It’ll be fun!” of authenticity, of life brightness, a chair is a chair It’s a pitiless, satiric self scarily contemporary; it experiences, and of theatre pretending to be another portrait of a man fleeing screams post-truth as well art as it affects playwrights, chair.” And I am pretending tesseract of postmodernist And lastly but most the most essential conflicts as post-modernism. actors and audiences. to be someone who has read navel-gazing. It’ll be fun! importantly, my mum within himself, endlessly I’ve always been attracted It’s been an engrossing a lot of Peter Handke when I do enough talking in the Katherine Baxter, who is seduced by his own trolls. to Ibsen’s later, more well- and thrilling voyage of really I just found that quote play already. So I want to probably my favourite mum. Peer is a loser, a liar, a known, more considered discovery for Eli and all after googling “Reality in use the remaining space to She should really have some narcissist, an Emperor of social dramas: A Doll’s of us on this project: our theatre quotes???” say thank you to everyone kind of dramaturgy credit Self so fixated on his own House, Ghosts, Enemy dramaturg, Philippa I’m interested in the at ATC, and all the cast and for this show. desires that he almost loses Of The People, Hedda Campbell, our talented relationship, or battle, crew. Colin and Philippa, Love and thanks, himself altogether. But Gabler, but the audacious design team and fabulous between theatre and thank you so much for EPK he’s beguiling - a dreamer high spirits of Peer Gynt cast of actors. Huge thanks reality. Art and life. Truth coming to me with this gift and maybe his fevered – challenging, infuriating, to all of them for coming on and fiction. When is of a project. And then lastly imagination can just save mysterious and mad – the journey. Now we invite fiction helpful? When is it I want to thank some friends him. But what is he? Does offered a wild ride I couldn’t you to join us. Enjoy. 4 5 Referencing in play... and television. Films he Supreme, Sisley, Tom Ford, is best known for include and Yves Saint Laurent The Terminator, Titanic among others. He has also and Avatar. Titanic and done work for magazines Avatar are the two highest such as Rolling Stone, GQ, grossing films of all time. Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Cameron quit his job as a Bazaar, i-D and Vice. He truck driver to enter the also directed Miley Cyrus’s HENRIK IBSEN film industry after seeing ‘Wrecking Ball’ music video. Henrik Ibsen was a major Star Wars in 1977. Cameron 19th century Norwegian divides his time between playwright, theatre director, his home in California and poet. He is often and his second home in referred to as “the father New Zealand, a country of realism” and is one of the he fell in love with when founders of Modernism in he was filming Avatar. In MILO YIANNOPOULOUS theatre. His major works 2016, Cameron partnered Milo Yiannopoulos is a include Peer Gynt, A Doll’s with Tourism New British journalist, author, House and Hedda Gabler. Delivering star Zealand to produce a series entrepreneur and public He is the most frequently of videos that expressed his speaker. Yiannopoulos performed dramatist in the love for the country. is a popular YouTuber world after Shakespeare.