Backyard Theatre presents Absurdities by Michael Pohl

Backyard Theatre presents Absurdities by Michael Pohl at the Gryphon Theatre from April 23 to May 3

Following a trial season at the Understudy at Bats, Absurdities takes the Gryphon Theatre on Ghuznee St by storm. This sharp, satircial, hilarious is made of a series of short sketches in the vein of such acts as Monty Python, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and Saturday Night Live.

Join us for an evening where we discover how Napoleon would fare in today's competitive job market, what the Prime Minister is planning to do with those series of blast furnaces down in Southland, what old people get up to when the youngsters aren't looking, and what trees think about people on smartphones.

Avsurdities is author Michael Pohl's first full-length show. “The original idea came from my friend Cordelia. She liked a bunch of the short stuff I'd written, and so I said, yeah, why not?”

About his sketches, Pohl says, “I like things that are short and snappy, that say their piece, and say it efficiently, cleverly, and quickly. Compression is a great challenge; telling a convincing story in the shortest possible timeframe.”

Director Shannon Friday, who has worked with Pohl on a number of shorter plays, says the show is a fun challenge. “It's great to work with such diverse bits – there's everything from political satire to crotch jokes. And to be able to play around with so many styles is just really fun.

“I grew up watching Monty Python and Saturday Night Live, and now it's just great to be able to play in that paddling pool. You realize those guys are so sharp and so good at what they do.”

The two differ on their favourite bits. Says Pohl, “The Queen and her advisor, definitely. Really short but gets the job done with a minimum of fuss.” Friday says, “I like the scene we're just calling 'the crotch scene.' It's great physical comedy that hints at some great stuff around gender and bodies – but mostly it is just pretty funny to see people scratching themselves like that onstage.”

For those wondering about the content, Friday says, “I'd say it's rated PG-13 – pretty good if you're 13.”

Absurdities: 23 April to 3 May
Gryphon Theatre, 22Ghuznee St
7.30PM April 23- 26
6.30PM April 29, 30
7.30PM May 1 – 3

Tickets $20 adult, $18 concession, $15 for groups of ten or more.
2 tickets for $25 on April 24

Tickets available on www.iticket.co.nz.

Creative Team:
Producer: Rodney Bane for Backyard Theatre
Lighting/Sound: Aaron Blackledge
Writer: Michael Pohl
Director: Shannon Friday
Cast: Rose Cann, James Bayliss, Michael Pohl, Tracey Gardiner, and Hugo Randall

ENDS

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