Levin playwright Kirsty Bennett’s Bump in the Night opens at Foxton Little Theatre

Isabella (Miya Harding-Nation) and Ben (Tyler O'Brien) discuss their strategy for dealing with being locked in a library.

Review

Bump in the Night

Written and directed by Kirsty Bennett

Foxton Little Theatre until May 13

Reviewed by Judith Lacy

Theatre reviews - this jotter’s anyway - tend to focus on the actors and maybe the director. But Bump in the Night really got me thinking about the work of the playwright.

Kirsty Bennett says the world premiere of her play last Friday was a lifelong dream fulfilled.

Penning the “gentle Agatha Christie-esque whodunit” must have taken a tremendous amount of work. So many words, nine characters to develop and a mix of modern-day technology and old school.

Bennett wrote Bump in the Night specifically for a young cast. She teaches at Levin East School and has drawn on her knowledge of young people to bring to the stage their phrases, motivations and mannerisms.

I couldn’t work out who was causing the bumps in the night - surely the sign of a well-written play. Bravo Ms Bennett.

It was also her directorial debut and she made sure her cast knew their lines, moved slickly about the stage and had impeccable timing. Timing is a big deal when a storm is raging and ghosts come and go.

There were only a few lines I missed due to mumbled delivery.

Foxton Little Theatre regular Emily Pond played Kerri, the grumpy librarian whose Friday night is not going to plan. Pond always brings great facial expressions to her roles and must have been a guiding hand for her younger castmates.

Nikau Lightband as the misunderstood Brian was a standout with his mischievousness and command of the stage.

Sarhan Chapman (of the Foxton famous Chapman/Napier acting family) shone as Hannah and her on-stage friend Isabella (Miya Harding-Nation) made a memorable impression with her “I was right” dance.

Lilly Fulton, as Hannah’s mother Marianne, had a tough role playing someone much older than herself. It wasn’t clear if Bennett wrote Marianne that way or if it was a strategy to get more young people on stage.

Rounding out the hardworking and talented cast are Tyler O’Brien (Ben), Kathy Watson (Sandi), Katelyn Berry (Jesse) and Mekah Ahmed (Alice).

Teenagers sure do anger and lounging well.

There was more humour in the second half and the chase scene was hilarious.

Adults behaving badly. Sandi (Kathy Watson) lectures Marianne (Lilly Fulton) about her taste in books.

The set, designed and constructed by Foxton Little Theatre stalwart Carl Terry, was spot on and Carolyn Allan, who leads the front-of-house team, is almost a show in herself.

The theatre is known for its table centrepieces and once again impressed with a nod to a line in the play about libraries having plenty of flammable materials.

The audience was peppered with teenagers, demonstrating a cast of young people is a great way to attract a different demographic and introduce them to the magic of theatre.

To paraphrase Terry, the old timers will fall off their perch one day and he doesn’t want to leave the birdcage empty.

Bump in the Night is a tribute to libraries, reading and young people. What more could you ask for. And with a matinee this Sunday, you don’t even need to venture out at night.