McPhail & Gadsby tour: new shows added

McPhail & Gadsby

Letter To Blanchy: Stir Crazy -- new shows added

DUE TO overwhelming demand, extra and new shows have been added to the extensive tour by iconic New Zealand comedians David McPhail and Jon Gadsby.

Extra shows have been added in Upper Hutt and Palmerston North and now an Auckland show has been added to the schedule.

The pioneers of Kiwi comedy adapt their award-winning television show, Letter to Blanchy, for a nationwide tour of their stage play LETTER TO BLANCHY: STIR CRAZY to begin in Auckland on February 25. The tour will now take in 17 venues and see 19 performances of this side-splitting comedy tale, finishing up in Dunedin on March 21.

This hilarious play has something to amuse and entertain everyone, be it through recognition of the foibles of the characters, sympathy for the plight of the unwilling bedfellows, or simply relief that it isn’t them.

Tickets are selling fast and audiences are urged to book quickly in order to enjoy a brand-new – and uniquely kiwi - comedy from two of the country’s finest.

Tickets on sale NOW. Booking details below. Group & senior discounts available. Selling fast!

Letter To Blanchy: Stir Crazy boasted an astonishing 95 % audience over seven weeks at Christchurch’s Court Theatre earlier this year and now the comedy duo are sharing the laughs with the rest of New Zealand.

Stir Crazy is their first co-writing effort after almost a decade since television series such as A Week of It, McPhail & Gadsby, and Issues; and it is the first time they have revisited the characters created for the much-loved comedy classic Letter To Blanchy.

McPhail and Gadsby star in their signature roles of Derek and Barry, joined by Tom Trevella as put-upon friend and brother-in-law Ray. Veteran actor Martin Howells completes the comic quartet in the role of Col (Derek’s horse trainer) whose marital strife, off-key singing and “trouble with the waterworks” has already frayed nerves before the four characters arrive at the ominously-named “Starvation Hut” for a spot of fishing. Soon after arrival, torrential rain and flooding cuts off the only means of escape, trapping the group together in a tramping hut. As the rain continues to pour, tensions rise until even the most trivial of pursuits may be the catalyst for catastrophe.

The original teleplay won a New Zealand Television and Film Award for Best Comedy Script and the stage potential immediately struck the pair. “When we were writing the television script we felt it would make a good play”, says Gadsby. “It felt like one in many ways because the action is character-driven and takes place in one location,” adds McPhail “so it stuck in our minds as something we could do in the future”.

McPhail and Gadsby set about adapting a 21-minute teleplay into a full-length script and realising the comic potential of the scenario. “The result is one of the funniest things I think we’ve written,” says McPhail, “You can believe the escalating insanity as they’re forced to share this tiny cabin for days. Their personalities collide and, as the tension builds, the more we laugh.”

With buoyant advanced sales, audiences are clearly leaping at the chance to spend a laugh-filled evening with David McPhail and Jon Gadsby as they bring their comic genius to the stage.

February – March 2009

North Island

Auckland Wed 25th Feb Bruce Mason Centre. Book at Ticketmaster NEW

Whangarei Thu 26th Feb Forum North. Book at Ticketek

Tauranga Fri 27th Feb Baycourt. Book at Ticketdirect

Hamilton Sat 28th Feb Meteor Theatre. Book at Ticketdirect

New Plymouth Sun 1st Mar TSB Showplace. Book at Ticketek

Wanganui Tue 3rd Mar Royal Wanganui Opera House. Book at Royal Wanganui Opera House

Palmerston North Wed 4th Mar The Globe. Book at Ticketdirect

Palmerston North Thurs 5th Mar The Globe. Book at Ticketdirect NEW

Napier Fri 6th Mar Century Theatre. Book at Ticketdirect

Upper Hutt Sat 7th Mar Expressions (4pm & 8pm NEW). Book at Ticketdirect

South Island

Nelson Thu 12th Mar Nelson School of Music. Book at Nelson School of Music

Blenheim Fri 13th Mar Marlborough Civic Theatre. Book at Ticketdirect

Greymouth Sat 14th Mar Regent Theatre. Book at Regent Theatre

Ashburton Sun 15th Mar Ashburton Trust Events Centre. Book at Regent iTicket

Timaru Wed 18th Mar Theatre Royal. Book at Newman’s Musicworks

Invercargill Thu 19th Mar Civic Theatre. Book at ICC Booking Office

Gore Fri 20th Mar St James Theatre. Book at Cairns MusicWorks

Dunedin Sat 21st Mar Mayfair Theatre. Book at Regent Box Office

ENDS

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