upcoming

This page will be updated regularly to include information about shows that past and present Bacchanals are involved in, as well as whatever upcoming projects we might be involved in together. Things that none of us are involved in but want to recommend simply because we like them might creep in also. Beware!

Yes, it might seem like this 'site never changes, but let us assure you that all sorts of subtle changes continue to be made. Most recently, you might have noticed that a plethora of never-before-seen photographs from 2005's touring production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and from 2007's King Lear have been added to the ever-rotating photo display on the front page of the 'site - so now you can F5 to your heart's content and see a different picture each time! Go on, you'll love it! And while there hasn't been much movement on the commentary pages in a while, you might be astonished to know that Measure For Measure's commentary has been completed and uploaded ... with A Midsummer Night's Dream not too far behind it, with a bit of luck.

We were very sad to hear that artist Colin Webster Watson passed away in 2007. As well as being an internationally renowned sculptor and performance artist, Colin was an outrageous and flamboyant raconteur who spent his last years in Eastbourne after a lifetime in Europe and the US. An enthusiastic supporter of The Bacchanals, he hosted us for a memorable lunch during the run of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2005, at which he greeted Alex with "You were a magnificent Bottom - and I've seen some bottoms in my time!" We last saw Colin at one of the Wellington performances of King Lear in August. Dunedin photographer Reg Graham also passed away in August, only a couple of weeks after photographing King Lear - the last photographs he ever took for the Fortune.
            The Bacchanals' text for their 2000-production of The Frogs was used in October by Victoria University's Theatre department as part of THEA204. How very strange it was to hear the words written for Taika, Carey, Bret, Jemaine et al being spoken by completely different actors in a completely different style. Word has it David found all of the performance pieces agonising to watch (apart from the group he directed himself).
            The 2007 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards were a bit of a jip in terms of predictability although we were happy to see the fabulous Jodie Hillock win Promising Female Newcomer for her performance in Home Land (Jodie appeared with some of us in Paul Rothwell's Deliver Us at BATS in February). But for Bacchanals and Bacchanals affiliates, it was a disappointing night - not only did Charlotte Simmonds not win Promising New Playwright (for Stories From No Home Neville and Unwholesome Claire Who Worked In The Kitchens And Smelt Like A Dish, which starred Alex as a hobo) nor Simon Vincent win Supporting Actor of the Year for his Cassio in Othello, but astonishingly the brilliant Erin Banks did NOT win Supporting Actress of the Year for her performance as the Fool and Cordelia in King Lear. David was so upset that he originally wrote a scandalously angry and subversive note in this very paragraph, which has since been removed from the website so as to avoid anyone getting litigious. But you cannot censor us! We intend this 'site to become a hotbed of political activism and angry ranting in 2008. You have been warned! (Although it is probably worth noting that all opinions, accusations, slanders and subversive remarks DO NOT reflect the views/opinions/attitudes of this website's editor, host or many of the people being written about. It's all David sitting on his own hunched over the computer shaking his fist at the world.)
            Ah yes, Deliver Us ... this bizarre new Paul Rothwell play had its premiere at BATS in February 2007, directed by David and starring Erin, Alex, Salesi, Jodie and Erroll Shand and produced by the superb Zelda Edwards. While John Smythe hailed it as "world-class" on www.theatreview.org.nz and said he'd witnessed the birth of a NZ classic, theatreview suddenly became a den of slander and attacks on the play, the production, the playwright, the actors ... in retrospect it seems amazing considering our hope was to sneak it in as a late-night Fringe show so that its controversial content might pass unnoticed (the play is, at face value, about an aborted foetus coming back from beyond the grave to wreak vengeance on the parents that had it terminated). At its height of controversy, the play even managed a column in the Melbourne Age, making it this decade's Blasted considering the fuss was a) unwarranted and b) went well beyond the very finite number of people that saw it over its five night season.
            The Bacchanals only presented one 'official' production in 2007 (Deliver Us and the shabby Kissing Bone - my god that was rubbish, even if Alex and Ginny were great! - were presented under the Bovine University label, which is the Wings/Plastic Ono Band or Public Image Ltd branch, if you were pondering the difference) King Lear will be most-remembered as the Bacchanals show that got overshadowed by the visiting Royal Shakespeare Company doing the same play at a much bigger venue with a pantless film star in the lead. Funded partially by Creative New Zealand's inaugural cross-sector collaboration scheme, it was a co-production between The Bacchanals and the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin. Edward Petherbridge came out from the UK to play Lear but illness meant that, with two weeks to go until opening night, the fearless Mick Rose stepped into the breach to take over the title role. It all seems like some ridiculous nightmarish dream now looking back on it ... but it was the most exhilarating, turbulent, magical time we've ever had as a company and hard to imagine there being any point to ever doing another show again as a result. Besides the brilliant actors and the wonderful team at the Fortune, King Lear couldn't have happened without the Bolton Hotel, Te Whaea, MJF Lighting (may they always enjoy links from our website to theirs) and the support of Charlotte Larsen, Josh Judkins, Mia Judkins and Zelda Edwards amongst others (we love you all, even the people whose names we haven't listed). Alas, we'd have loved to have won numerous awards to make your investments in us pay off, but the fleetingness of theatre means everyone remembers the RSC and not poor old us, even if we got the better reviews (in Wellington, at least. Some of those Dunedin hags need a kick. Did he just say hags? I told you, angry ranting for 2008 - get used to it. Besides, no one actually reads this 'site, do they?).
            The wonders of Microsoft saw a virus eat not just The Bacchanals' computer but THREE MACHINES at the Fortune (woo-hoo!) so if you were on the mailing list but haven't heard from us, click on this link here (greetings@thebacchanals.net) and we'll re-subscribe you.

A Renaissance Man premieres at BATS on January 10. It is the playwriting debut of Simon Vincent, who you may remember from such productions as Hamlet (in which he played Hamlet) and stars lifers Alex Greig as Henry and Erin Banks as Anne, as well as Phil Peleton (who also appeared in the 2006 Hamlet) as John Donne, Allan Henry as Sidney, Gavin Rutherford as Essex and Rachel More as Stella, with lighting by Jen Lal, fight choreography by Allan and directed by David Lawrence. A Renaissance Man began life as Simon's drama school monologue, and over the years has undergone considerable restructuring and redevelopment so that it is now a full length play complete with sword fights, swinging Spaniards and metaphysical poetry. It is the swashbuckling tale of Renaissance poet, priest and existential angst-er John Donne. Don't forget: BATS Theatre, 10-19 January 2008, 7pm! Due to the usual ludicrous BATS policy of multiple-programming and short seasons, it only runs for 8 nights and 90 minutes. Hurry! You can book by calling (04) 802-4175 or e-mailing (book@bats.co.nz).

Don't really have a lot to tell you about this, other than that it's on at Circa through January/February (there are probably proper details at www.circa.co.nz) and directed by the fantastic Bruce Phillips, who you may remember from such productions as King Lear (which he should have won a Chapman Tripp for - curse you all!!). The cast also includes Sam Snedden (Edgar from Lear) and the lovely Danielle Mason. Circa have upped their ticket prices to a ludicrous $38 per head for 2008, so don't book - try and get a standby beforehand on the night.

This new play by Gavin McGibbon, who should have at least been nominated for Promising New Playwright for either After Service or Stand Up Love, runs at BATS from (we think) February 12, in one of those short blink-and-you'll-miss-it Fringe runs. It's set after hours on the King Kong boat out at Miramar when no one's filming. Gavin is a brilliant playwright, and if there's any justice in the world his noir play Nick Stuart: A Gumshoe will finally get a season somewhere in 2008 or 2009. Shipwrecked Beneath The Stars is great fun and would have been directed by David if he weren't already horrendously over-committed. The cast features the wonderful Alex Greig, computer-virus-destroyer extraordinaire.

Also in one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it Fringe slots is Phil Braithwaite's tale of King David and Bathsheba, daughter of the seven gods. Phil (winner of numerous awards and author of plays such as The Human Engine, The Ghost of Woody Allen and Seven Days Alone With Rebecca) has recently been working with the SEEyD company on Paua, and Hail to the Thief is the first of several of his plays that will hopefully see production in 2008. It's produced by Fiona McNamara, directed by David Lawrence and stars (at the moment) Alex Greig, Jonny Potts and Tony Hopkins who will hopefully be all beardy and biblical by the time rehearsals start. Or maybe not. Keep checking back here for exciting casting updates - who o who will play Bathsheba? Will it be Rachel Weisz? Will it be her stand-in? Or will it be someone completely different? Hail to the Thief runs at BATS from March 1-8 at 6.15pm. Book by calling (04) 802-4175 or by e-mailing book@bats.co.nz.

Something a bit left-field here ... yes, an opera! Not In My Back Yard Opera premiered their first production, of Bernstein's Trouble In Tahiti, in February 2007, and their second production, a short opera by Lyell Cresswell called Good Angel, Bad Angel (based on the Robert Louis Stevenson short story Markheim) plays in Wellington at the Massey auditorium from March 29 - April 4, then at the Globe in Palmerston North on April 6, and then at The Opera Factory in Auckland on April 11. It is produced by NIMBY Opera founders John Parker and Barbara Paterson and directed by David (what? surely he can't direct opera!?) and with musical direction by Catherine Norton.

If you didn't spot the magnificent David Goldthorpe playing the Duke of Burgundy, Curan and a thousand different knights and messengers in King Lear, or you missed him as a singing clam in Capital E's Songs of the Sea, then you might have seen his superb solo show about Chet Baker at Happy in the 2007 Fringe. It was directed by David Lawrence with musical direction by Tim Solly, and David G learnt to play the trumpet especially for it. A new exciting improved version (with even more trumpet solos and controversial drug use!) will rear its heroin-ravaged head in May 2008 with a season at the fabulous Fortune Theatre in Dunedin from May 6-11. Should we insert a blurb that tells you a little more? Even a clever picture at the side? What about a link to www.davidgoldthorpe.com? Oh, alright - here you go:
            Legendary jazz musician Chet Baker's subdued and cool stage presence made him the James Dean of music. His extraordinary talent with the trumpet and a spare and captivating vocal style onstage barely hid his offstage drug addiction and frequent brushes with the law. A life spiraling out of control ended one night in Amsterdam when he was found dead on the pavement outside his hotel. But did he fall from the window in a drug-induced haze or did he throw himself out when his talent could no longer save him? David Goldthorpe explores the haunting and unforgettable music that made Baker famous and the drugs and weaknesses that ultimately led him to that window in a show that defines the man behind the legend. Cool, melancholy, and tragic, this new musical play employs live musicians alongside raw narrative to bring you Chet. "...a simple yet classy show that might well mesmerise us with cool jazz if it did not also challenge us with flashes of fact that are hard to ignore."

Alright, one last plug (for the time being) for a 2008 show. Burnt Coffee (as it is presently called) is the latest work from playwright Charlotte Simmonds, author of Arctic/Antarctic: A Bi-Polar Play and nominated for Most Promising New Playwright for 2007's Stories From Nohome Neville and Unwholesome Clare Who Worked In The Kitchens and Smelt Like A Dish. It plays at BATS from Thursday 29 May - Saturday 7 June at 6.30pm. Not much else we can tell you at the moment, other than that it requires an Iranian dwarf (or someone that can convincingly play one). So if you know any, let us know!

Yes, it might seem insane to be talking 2009 already, especially given how angry and disillusioned with theatre David is these days ... but if an eager group of enthusiasts led by Bill Sheat have their way, Wellington will be host to a mad attempt to present the entire Shakespeare canon (in some form or other) over the course of 2009, with involvement from Downstage, Circa, Toi Whakaari, Studio 77, the opera and ballet companies, the NZSO and many other arts organisations. What on earth could The Bacchanals possibly contribute to such an endeavour? ("crazy plan, crazy plan!" wishes Bart with fingers crossed) David is in three minds - on the one hand, he's immensely proud of shabby community hall shows a la the 2006 Hamlet ... at the other end of things he finds properly rehearsed/funded/realised works like the 2007 King Lear are really the sort of thing he wants to be doing. But there's no point in doing something just for the hell of it - you might as well fail at something ambitiously ridiculous than succeed at something easy. So The Bacchanals' contribution would be to present a quartet - the three parts of Henry VI and Richard III - with a cast of 15. How does 1 Henry VI on Tuesdays, 2 Henry VI on Wednesdays, 3 Henry VI on Thursdays, Richard III on Fridays and then the whole lot on Saturdays sound to you - completely bloody mad? Yeah, but when has that ever stopped us ...? Bet you CNZ won't fund it in a million years. More news when it comes to hand. Failing that, there are murmurings of another Fortune/Bacchanals collaboration - this time on The Tempest - for 2009, and David also thinks in this age of computers and technology subsuming the world that maybe a production of Karel Capek's 1920 play RUR (Rossum's Universal Robots) might be timely - or at least novel (come on, when did you last see a play with robots in it?). Keep watching the skies!

upcoming | history | people | reviews | cats

The Frogs | Othello | Wealth and Hellbeing | The Jew of Malta/Titus Andronicus/Volpone | Hamlet 2002
Crave | Twelfth Night | The Bacchae | Romeo and Juliet | A Midsummer Night's Dream
Hate Crimes | Measure for Measure | I.D. | Hamlet 2006 | King Lear

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