Iconic Kiwi Comedy Is About To Hit The Road

Rangiora, Dunedin, Invercargill, Gore, Oamaru, Christchurch, Ashburton, Nelson, Blenheim, Wellington, Kapiti, Napier, Tauranga, Rotorua, Carterton, Palmerston North, Whanganui, Kerikeri, Whangarei, Auckland, New Plymouth, Hamilton

New Zealand's “sexiest” actors are about to hit the road with our most iconic comedy, LADIES NIGHT – a stage show about five down-on-their-luck Kiwi blokes who have a lightbulb moment to get into shape and become strippers.

Think Magic Mike with a healthy dose of New Zealand comedy, LADIES NIGHT promises to be this year's funniest night out.

Hunky Mike Edward (Shortland Street, Power Rangers, The Brokenwood Mysteries, Spartacus) will play head stripper Barry – a V8 driving, bass playing man-child who hasn’t abandoned certain adolescent urges.

Comedy royalty Mark Wright (That Comedy Show, Comedy Central, Shark In The Park, The Billy T James Show, Shortland Street, Power Rangers) is back at what he does best – making people laugh -- as Bernie, the aging, sleazy nightclub owner.

Step Dave star Jono Kenyon (My Life Is Murder, 800 Words, Go Girls, The Hobbit) will play the hustler Craig while Andrew Ford (Shortland Street, The Pickle King, Jeeves and Wooster) plays witty hospital orderly Gavin. Former Commonwealth Games gymnast turned actor Reid McGowan (Power Rangers) will play nervous Norman while Andrew Cornish (Club Waack, Basement Theatre 2023) plays Wes, a commercial cleaner, whose large Samoan family and church background effect all his major decisions.

Their friend Glenda, a former professional “dancer”, will be played by highly acclaimed actress Julia Guthrey who has enjoyed performing in many shows and tours in NZ and the UK. Highlights include Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors (Pop-up Globe in Auckland and Sydney), Saturday Night Fever, Grease (Ben McDonald Tours) Cats, Chicago (Showbiz), Ship of Fools (A Different Light), Rapunzel, Guys 'n' Dolls (The Court Theatre), The Great Storm of 1868 (Oamaru Living History) The Merry Wives Windsor (UK Outdoor Shakespeare Tours). Julia also works as a choreographer, singing coach and acting teacher.

This hilarious new production of Ladies Night promises to be this year's funniest night out as these real Kiwi blokes dare each other to put on a male strip show, after falling down on their luck and needing some extra cash.

A spur of the moment idea rapidly becomes a reality as the venue is booked and the seats sold. With the terrifying prospect of actually having to strip in front of the public only moments away, Craig, Barry, Norm, Wes and Gavin set about transforming themselves from beer belly to Six Pack.

Written in 1987 by Anthony McCarten and Stephen Sinclair, Ladies Night was a global theatrical hit. The precursor to stage hits like Magic Mike starring hunky Channing Tatum, LADIES NIGHT has been translated into 16 languages and remains New Zealand’s most commercially successful play of all time.

After eight sell-out tours of Britain, it went on to win The Molière Prize, France’s premiere theatre award for comedy, in 2001.

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