INDEPENDENT NEWS

Burning Up The Stage

Published: Tue 7 Sep 2004 09:19 AM
Burning Up The Stage
Once again Tony McCaffrey and his accomplices will burn up the stage in Court Two with explosive, innovative and youthful theatre.
Starring Ban Abdul (Disco Pigs) and Kim Garrett (The Maids) and supported by the experience of stalwarts of the Christchurch stage Geoffrey Heath and Toni Jones and two fresh new faces Jonathan Martin and Tyron Kouka, DUCK will burst onto stage on the 18th of September.
DUCK is the latest instalment from the creative team that brought Disco Pigs, The Curative and The Maids to the stage. This debut work from the pen of Stella Feehily is fresh from the Royal Court Theatre , London , where it premiered in 2003.
Producer Michael Adams is thrilled to have picked up the rights for the work. “Normally, it takes a few years for the rights of a successful show to be available to an independent company in New Zealand . This production is the first restaging of Duck but another company anywhere in the world.”
“We came across reviews for the play last year and immediately put a case for restaging the work in New Zealand which was accepted.”
Branded the maverick director by the media for his stylish productions and slick revamps of old classic’s, director Tony McCaffrey was drawn to the play because its characters are so real, “Sophie and Duck are two young women in their early twenties finding themselves, and getting into trouble along the way, the truthfulness of how they solve these problems generates moments of great humour mixed up with moments of touching drama.”
“It’s a show for young and old alike,” says actor Geoffrey Heath, “that’s what I like about it, all the characters are real, and the conflict and rebellion between generations makes the drama something everyone can relate to.”
2004 has been an frenetic year for director Tony McCaffrey. He launched the year with The Maids before performing in King Lear at The Court Theatre and then resuming his directing mantle for Summerfolk at NASDA, Anthony Ritchie’s Ahua for the Christchurch City Council and currently A Different Light which playes as part of the body festival.
Committed to establishing and developing the careers of young professional actors, McCaffrey and Adams have built a reputation for introducing exceptional new actors to Christchurch audiences. Duck will present two up and coming young male actors Jonathan Martin and Tyron Kouka as two of the men in Sophie and Cat’s lives. Both actor’s have recently graduated from training schools and are thriving on the intense creative rehearsals for the production.
Ban Abdul and Kim Garrett are also assuming the roles of co-producers for the production as part their professional development.
Duck plays from the 18th of September to the 11th of October at Court Two Theatre.

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