Thieves have struck the Fringe Festival. On the eve of their opening performance, THE LAST GASP team have been deprived
of their prized possession. A dictionary. The five Wellington performers have been left in the lurch on the eve of their
first performance after thieves stole a key prop needed for their show.
While the crime is not heinous, it certainly is perplexing. The thief or thieves didn’t take any of the many valuable
items (including expensive sound and lighting systems, and copious amounts of alcohol in the foyer bar) stored at No 5
Cable St, their performance venue.
Even CDs were left behind. It seems the only item of interest was the dictionary. It could be a thief with a spelling
problem. Or maybe a limited vocabulary. The dictionary is easily identified – the words “need” and “ruin” – highly
significant in the play – have been highlighted.
Writer/director Matthew Hodgman said that he was lost for words – literally. “The mind boggles. Just why would someone
want to steal a dictionary? At first we couldn’t believe it was gone. They’ve left a lot of valuable equipment behind,
so we’re pretty certain it’s not the work of professionals.”
A substitute dictionary has been found, so the play will continue at 6:30pm daily until Monday 18th (Tickets from
Ticketek on 384 3840 for $12 - $15). THE LAST GASP team were putting a brave face on their experience. “We’ve spent a
lot of time theorising about what would motivate someone to do this. Who knows, maybe this could be the basis for our
next play.”
Ends