Popular show not coming to Auckland

By LINDA HERRICK arts editor

Writer-performer Duncan Sarkies, who is touring his popular one-man show Wild Man Eyes around the country, is not planning to bring the work to Auckland. Which is a pity because the show, based on Sarkies' book of short stories, sold out at Bats and Circa in Wellington and is playing to solid houses in Dunedin. The Scarfies writer also plans to take it to the Bay of Islands and Hamilton later this year.

So why not our fair city? According to his producer, Greg Wikstrom, "We'll come when Auckland provides an interesting enough space that doesn't rely on Shortland Street stars in its main bills to sell tickets."

Ouch! (or should that be touche?)

"Greg's right," says Sarkies. "If you haven't done Shortland Street, Auckland is an impossible city to crack as an outsider. There's a kind of lethargy about the theatre-going audience. If you take a show to Auckland you have to chuck a lot of money at it. You're taking a big financial risk and I don't want to take that risk."

Sarkies agrees it may be good business sense for an outfit such as the Auckland Theatre Company to employ what he refers to as Shorty St stars. "It is prudent business to grab people whose currency may be based on their profile, their box office appeal, which is walking into a kind of star system - bizarre for a small country like New Zealand.

"To be fair, many of them are very good actors. But when you do Shortland Street it is not the best training for an actor and they can pick up some very, very bad habits. I'm referring to people who work very fast and get used to faking it as quickly as possible, so there's a danger of not exploring things properly."

A suitable venue, rather than the soap opera appeal of an actor's face, is at the heart of Sarkies' concerns, however. "Auckland needs to secure a new venue at the heart of the community which would allow people from outside to come in and do a show. The Silo has got the right heart but the theatre space is limited."

Meanwhile, the ATC's Oliver Driver, once a Shorty Streeter and now fully occupied with directing plays and running ATC's 2nd Unit, says, "Just because actors have been on Shortland Street or any other film or TV show does not mean they are bad actors ... I will not deny that the publicity surrounding a Robin Malcolm or a Lucy Lawless helps us to sell tickets but at another level it helps to validate theatre as a respectable/cool/cred form.

"What we must always be careful of is casting only for that reason. I never have and never will cast because of an actor's fame. They must be good - they must be the best."