New Plymouth Repertory's latest play ready to open next week

Nicola Bleasel, Sharren Read and Brad Duynhoven have the tools to tell a heart-warming comedy about loss, sisterhood and DIY. Photo / Monique Matthews Photography

In the space of two years, Sharren Read went from having a clear mammogram to having stage three breast cancer.

The former principal never felt a lump, and if it weren't for a mammogram, the 67-year-old wouldn't have known anything was wrong.

"I've had routine mammograms every two years since I was 45, and a mammogram picked up this aggressive cancer. It was a soft tissue tumour, and it was a shock. I'd never heard of soft tissue tumours, and it means I didn't feel the lump. So, my message to women is don't renege on having mammograms."

Sharren says in hindsight she was naive about the realities of having cancer, but soon realised chemotherapy and a mastectomy meant she had to put some of her plans on hold, including directing a play called The Pink Hammer. A year later she is still having bone infusions and taking medication but is in remission and returning to things that bring her joy, like directing.

The Pink Hammer finally opens on July 19 and Sharren says she has enjoyed being back in the theatre.

Written by Michele Amas, who died of cancer in 2016, the play includes a character named Helen who has been diagnosed with cancer.

"Helen resonates with me because she's determined that cancer's not going to define her and that she lives her life, and that's how I see it too," Sharren says.

The heartfelt comedy brings together the lives of four women who are dealing with various forms of loss and enrol in a ladies-only woodworking class, reluctantly run by a bloke.

Nicola Bleasel plays Helen and like Read is a strong advocate for regular mammograms.

"Breast screening in New Zealand is opt-in, you have to enrol in it. I don't think a lot of women realise that. I didn't until I turned 45."

Nicola, who is a nurse, says the reason she wanted to do the play was that Sharren was directing.

"And I love this play. It's a Kiwi play, it's funny, and at least one of these characters will resonate with you."

Brad Duynhoven plays the only male and says he enjoys the evolution his character goes through.

"His feelings are buried under a lot of layers. He's stubborn and stuck in his ways and I don't think he's ever assessed his place in the world outside of the three-generation house he lives in. He's not particularly happy to find a bunch of women in his shed, but after being blackmailed into taking their workshop he starts to open up and connects with a few of them. He goes through a nice little character arc."

Brad is also enjoying working with Sharren, who taught him when he was a youngster at
Inglewood Primary School.

"She's brilliant, and it's been nice reminiscing."

The details:
What: The Pink Hammer
Where: New Plymouth Repertory Society
When: July 19 - 30.
Tickets: available from trybooking.com