Free Auckland Christmas Day event: End of the Golden Weather
A scene from Kiwi playwright Bruce Mason’s play ‘The End of the Golden Weather’ will be performed by actor Stephen
Lovatt at10.00am, Christmas Day, Wednesday 25th December. The performance lasts about 30 minutes and is held at Takapuna
Beachreserve.
8th YEAR OF THIS EVENT
Christmas Day 10am
Takapuna Beach Reserve
A scene from Bruce Mason’s play ‘The End of the Golden Weather’
(The scene is a child’s point of view of a Christmas Day on Takapuna Beach in the 1930’s)
A FREE event made possible by the Auckland City Council (a smoke free event)
Performance lasts about 30 minutes
Background
One of NZ’s most well known playwrites, Bruce Mason’s play ‘The End of the Golden Weather’ was first performed in 1959.
One of the scenes is set on Takapuna Beach on Christmas Day in the 1930s. It was a solo piece which Mason himself
performed (he did more than a 1000 performances).
Roger Hall, the event organiser, moved to Takapuna and had often thought it would be a good idea to have that scene
performed on Christmas Day, and decided to organise it himself in 2006. He asked actor Stephen Lovatt, who had been
touring the play, if he would be willing to perform the piece. Lovatt was keen and immediately said that the fee Hall
offered him should be donated to OXFAM. In 2006 about 120 people turned up to watch; since then it has become an annual
event with about 300 people every year. At the end of the show, onlookers have the chance to donate to Oxfam if they
wish.
2013 will be the eighth year.
Over the years the event has raised thousands of dollars for Oxfam’s work with communalities in the developing world.
ENDS