Remarkable Theatre rehearsed their forthcoming show on a beautiful sunny summer's afternoon in the Queenstown Botanic gardens. This is the first time we have rehearsed this show in situ, and it was wonderful to see how it will look under the trees and wide open skies.
Zelia Horrell gets us into the spirit with the Prologue from Rush! as she offers to take us back 'to yesteryear'.
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| Zelia Horrell |
Next, in a scene written by Malcolm MacKay, the legendary Bully Hayes (Jason Fullerton) is proved to live up to his name as Mrs Buckingham (Lisa Moore) plans to expose him with the assistance of the Barbarous Barber (Andrew Edgar), while former admirer (Melanie Grindell) looks on.
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| Andrew Edgar |
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| Jason Fullerton |
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| Melanie Grindell and Lisa Moore |
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| Andrew Edgar and Jason Fullerton |
Susan Auty portrays the hardships of young motherhood in Life in the Mines, while her good-hearted husband Bill (David Cantwell) slumbers though it all in a touching scene written by Victoria Keating-MacKay.
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| Susan Auty |
Belinda Fraser gives her rendition of a traditional folk song while practically doing the laundry in canvas town.
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| Belinda Fraser |
In another scene from Rush!, Joe Lawson (Jason Fullerton) and Duncan MacKenzie (Andrew Edgar) discuss the necessity of keeping their discovery of gold a secret from all, including Jackie O'Fea (David Cantwell), everyone's favourite drunken Irishman.
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| Jason Fullerton and Andrew Edgar |
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| David Cantwell |
Margaret and Betty fix up a wardrobe malfunction in Plain Against Jane, written by Andrew Edgar.
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| Ailsa Williamson and Belinda Fraser |
Director Tiffany Menzies has cleverly pieced together the thoughts and written communications of Gabriel Read (David Cantwell), F Walker (Samuel Farr) and Rebecca (Melanie Grindell) in Letters.
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| David Cantwell |
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| Samuel Farr |
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| Melanie Grindell |
In The Proletarian Tycoon (adapted by Victoria Keating-MacKay), Eamonn Nicholas as Jerry proves that beer is the answer!
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| As Sarah the bartender, Zelia Horrell likes 'thirsty people with gold' |
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| Jane Robertson as Mrs Mac can't wait to 'diddle that mole, Sarah' |
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| Eamonn McNicholas and Jane Robertson |
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| 'Without me, I wouldn't have gotten my beer!' |
Belinda Fraser is Julia Eichardt telling the audience a bit of local history and offering them a room in the hotel - the first in Queenstown to have electric lighting!
David Cantwell treats us to a poem, The Spell of Otago, which was originally The Spell of the Yukon by Robert W Service.
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| 'I wanted the gold and I sought it' |
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| 'There's the land. (Have you seen it?)' |
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| 'You come to get rich (damned good reason)' |
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| There's a land - oh, it beckons and beckons |
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