Lullaby Jock: Silent Generations

Lullaby Jock: Silent Generations
Press Release

This is not an easy press release to write and perhaps it will not be an easy piece to perform. But the truth of the matter is that we don’t always do things because they are easy. Sometimes we do things because they are right. This is one of those times.

“Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn.” That’s what Jock Ferry used to say - a storyteller, a singer, a familyman, a teacher and a friend. Jock was the life of the party and the joker that kept everybody upbeat and happy. He was the man to sing the songs and tell the jokes and tease the ladies and ridicule the blokes. He raised a family of nine in Pahiatua and he affected many people in his life. But, Jock, like your father or uncle or grandfather or brother had some secrets too. Secrets that he wouldn’t share. Secrets that tormented his happy soul.

When Jock went to war in the forties, wanting to see the world and discover adventure, he didn’t know what he was in for. He found Italy and North Africa the most boring places to be…until you got to the front line. Then all hell broke loose and you stomped through the mud and blood of enemy and friend alike, singing and hoping, praying and dying every day.

Even for Jock, who was used to kidding himself as much as his mates, the truth of war was a tough cross to bear. The dead Frenchman whose hand all soldiers would shake for laughs, the mad surgeon hacking off legs, the Italian woman shot dead…The faces never went away, the noise never stopped, but the drink helped keep the horror deep, deep inside.

When Jock returned and became a teacher he was still a rogue, playing practical jokes, stealing pianos and always singing and telling stories.

This story begins with his funeral. Lying in his coffin, he laughs at the stories being told about him, “A load of codswallop, they get that from me…”

Lullaby Jock: Silent Generations is a collection of true stories, embellishments and fantastical tales as told by Jock Ferry and many others affected by WWII. War continues to affect everyone in the world and every generation born unto it.
This is how it changed one man and one generation.

Centrepoint Theatre’s Artistic Director, Simon Ferry has devised and performs this very personal solo piece. Simon was the course leader for the Ucol Theatre School for five years prior to his current appointment. He specialized in devising new works during his time at Ucol. Adapted from a monologue he performed as part of his graduation from Toi Whakaari: the New Zealand Drama School, Lullaby Jock: Silent Generation has been fifteen years in the making. Simon has used interviews from the community, family, friends and war veterans to craft this story. The result is a piece of cultural history, a history of friendship, family and warfare.

To bring this work together Simon has teamed up with top devisor Tim Spite. Also a Toi Whakaari grad (1991), Tim has predominantly worked as an actor racking up over seventy professional shows. He has also co-written/devised a dozen productions, seven of which were produced by his company Seeyd. Tim has applied a process of research, improvisation, editing, workshopping and finally rehearsing to create this work with Simon.

Coping with a devised show has also been a challenge for set designers Shelley Irwin and Harvey Taylor. The organic nature of the process means that ideas are constantly changing and thus they must be prepared for new concepts at any stage. So far the set design consists of a wall of beer bottles (about 800 or so), a white floor and a coffin allowing for easy transitions between multiple characters and settings.

The use of white is helpful (but glass perhaps the opposite) for lighting designer Natasha James’ (Doubt 2006) challenge of using projections as part of her design. Using images from the war and photographs in a slideshowesque manner help to create the feeling of the era. “Like the stories we tell light refracts through glass – it’s how the hues play and display that is the dangerous and exciting prospect.”

Widely considered to be among the top directors and performers on stage in New Zealand Simon Ferry’s performance will be worth the price alone. Add to that a top professional team from Wellington and Palmerston and you are guaranteed an experience that will move you to tears of joy and pain.

The very special price of $28 per ticket (usually $35) is offered to all members of the New Zealand Army.

Lullaby Jock: Silent Generations plays from the 7th of July until the 4th of August. Performances are at 6.30pm on Wednesdays, 8.00pm Thursday through Saturday and at 5.00pm on Sundays.
Bookings can be made online at www.centrepoint.co.nz or by calling (06) 354 5740. No booking charges apply!!!

ENDS

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