The play is a family drama set at a bach on the East Coast at Christmas.
“It’s about a dysfunctional family meeting up and the drama unfolds around them coming to terms with loss and also dealing with the declining health of a family member with dementia,” Susan says.
“There are light comedic moments too and people should be able to relate to the family dynamics that can get quite stressed when everyone gathers at Christmas. There are also references to the severe weather events of late and how that is impacting people’s lives.”
Evolution Theatre invited playwrights from all over the country to submit new works that were East Coast-centric.
The result was two works. One was a one-act play called Hikoi by Bronwyn Elsmore which follows a small number of coasties taking part on a protest march. While the dialogue was mostly around the blisters suffered by the young protester, it had a more serious context about the hard work done by their forebears to effect change.
The second, a longer format play, was written by Brian Johnston who has more than 30 years experience in both professional and amateur theatre. Called New Georgy Girl it was the story about an older transgender man moving to a small coastal town. He is encouraged by a young neighbour to find the courage to ‘come out’ at the age of 74. Performed by Hugo McGuinness and Andrew Stevens, and directed by Elizabeth Stevens, the play was a timely probe/exploration into notions of age and gender.
Evolution Theatre artistic director Dinna Myers said while they didn’t have any submissions that strictly met the criteria of East Coast Scribes, they selected two plays they felt were worth progressing into staged readings.
A staged reading allows the playwright to hear their words spoken aloud by professional actors in a theatrical setting with a live audience. They can use this feedback to grow and enhance their piece prior to formal publication and/or professional production. The actors carry scripts and the production values are kept to a minimum.
The play Beachfront Reality, which was selected last year, is now being professionally produced by Evolution in February next year. It has already had some interest nationally and is expected to become a well-produced piece of Kiwi culture. Auditions are being held on December 2 to cast the production.
“Programmes like East Coast Scribes are essential in the ecology of theatrical production and allow new voices a chance to be heard,” says Ms Myers.
