The wheat seems better than in France. The evolution of Le Sud
25 January 2010
We thought it might be time to tell you a bit more about the play, who’s involved and how it came to fruition.
It’s the end of the second week of rehearsals for Le Sud. One more week and then we pack in to the Maidment Theatre for production week and open a three week season on February 11. We thought it might be time to tell you a bit more about the play, who’s involved and how it came to fruition.
Written by Dave Armstrong, Le Sud has played to sell out seasons all over New Zealand. David Farrar and Lynn Freeman reviewed the Downstage production. David called it ‘A wonderfully politically incorrect play’ and Lynn said it was ‘Fast, furious & funny’.
Le Sud was originally commissioned by the Wanaka Festival of Colour What a successful commission! ATC has been delighted to play a role in the on-going development of this commission along the way. As part of our core business we run the country’s only full time Literary Unit which is dedicated to actively nurturing New Zealand playwrights and their work. Auckland Theatre Company’s Literary Unit runs 8 free play readings a year and Le Sud was first work shopped in 2008. ATC then went on to programme it in The Next Stage in 2008, an annual festival run by the Company that partners 3 New Zealand playwrights with the very best directing and acting talent to give their plays a two week workshop and a short semi-staged season with an audience. Raymond Hawthorne directed that reading in 2008 and is back to direct the mainstage production for us. Dave has talked about the experience of working with Raymond in an interview with Lumiere Reader. Apparently Raymond is the only person who can call Dave ‘peachy pie’ and get away with it.
Read the full blog entry here
