Rep Talk: Meet Mr and Mrs Shenanigan

Seamus Shenanigan (Andrew Tagoai) and Sheila Shenanigan (Cathy Gribble). Photo / Russell Penton

Meet Mrs Sheila Shenanigan and her husband Mr Seamus Shenanigan, also known as Cathy Gribble and Andrew Tagoai.

I was curious regarding Andrew's involvement in theatre as our director Glenn Cameron attributes his own theatre involvement to Andrew.

"Well, my sister got me to take part in a musical in the 1990s. They were short of men so I got my friend Glenn to go along too. It was A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Glenn was a brothel keeper and I was a guy called Hysterium.

"When Glenn asked me to be in Shenanigan's Wake I read the script and found it so funny I thought it'd be great fun to do. It's kind of a musical too as there's a lot of singing in it. When I was in Ireland I had a job playing guitar in a pub," Andrew says.

"I worked in a pub in Ireland too," Cathy joined in.

She'd lived in Ireland for over a year and later, on her return to New Zealand she ran the Shamrock Cafe in Wellington.

"I ran the Irish Ball and St Patrick's Day parades too."

I asked if her parents were Irish.

"No, my great-grandfather was Irish and I'm a third generation New Zealander but I still strongly identify with Ireland and Irish culture."

Both Cathy and Andrew are enjoying rehearsals for Shenanigan's Wake.

"It's so much fun and there's a lot of music in it," says Andrew. Cathy agrees.

Come and see them at Repertory Theatre from Thursday, May 27 to Saturday, June 5 with a 2pm Sunday matinee on May 30. You'll laugh your socks off!