Wellington Theatre Troupe Brings Shakespeare on Tour

Press Release: 25/11/13

Wellington Theatre Troupe Brings Shakespeare and More on Tour

The Lord Lackbeards promise to meld the classic with the cutting edge, following in the footsteps of traditional touring players.

They will be presenting original practice Shakespeare along-side a contemporary work by award winning Victoria University playwright Henrietta Bollinger

William Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet, and contemporary work Bedtime Monsters, will comprise the first summer tour by The Lord Lackbeards Theatre Troupe.

The tour will be touring New Zealand’s North Island from November 26th through December 15th.

About the Company

The Lord Lackbeards are theatre troupe based at Victoria University of Wellington, aiming to bring original practice Shakespeare to a wider New Zealand audience. The decision to tour more widely has followed their successful July tour of Much Ado About Nothing in the Wairarapa. They hope future tours will reach further yet.

The troupe always create work which is both entertaining, accessible, and guaranteed to capture any audience. Although they have primarily focussed on Shakespeare, also they also aim to foster the performance of contemporary work, especially that of Victoria University students. Through touring, they hope to give writers and actors exposure on a national level, while giving their audiences a rare look into the world of Elizabethan performance.

Founding company member Chennoah Walford says “opportunities to tour work to smaller towns are few and far between. We’re taking this opportunity and running with it, and that means a really special experience for both New Zealand audiences and our artists.”

Director Ania Upstill says “Since this is primarily a touring production, we’re not focused on costumes or set. Instead, we’re spending time on what we have: allowing the words to take on their full power and keeping the audience in the room. Also, like in Shakespeare’s time, we’re doubling up on the roles. All of the seven actors involved have multiple roles, so costume changes are fast and fun.”

About the Plays

Romeo and Juliet undoubtedly one of Shakespeare's best known plays. This production takes a fresh look, aiming to highlight the comic in the play. Music, dancing, bold colour choices and versatile set pieces are at the heart. There is a also strong focus on the diversity of interpretations of ‘love’ within the play, evoking both the physical and the metaphysical to meet this challenge.

Bedtime Monsters is a new work by Victoria University student Etta Bollinger. This tour will double play’s world premiere. How much thicker is blood than water when you are drowning?
Sisters Adeline and Greer were inseparable as children. After Adeline and her ‘full of potential’ boyfriend Mark were confronted by their teenage pregnancy, the sisters found their relationship fracturing. Now with seemingly insurmountable distances between them the sisters are drawn back together by an unexpected change in the tide. In a cold and unsympathetic world they are unsure where they are drifting.

Of Bedtime Monsters, actor Cassandra Tse says “I’ve really enjoyed working on this project because it’s been both fun and challenging to bring these incredibly complex characters to life”.
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