Behind the scenes

My friend Beverley invited me to come see the final preparation run for the theatre play 'Scenes from a Seperation' at the Howick Little Theatre in Auckland. She does the props and helps out behind the scenes as one of the stage managers. I hadn't been to theatre in many many years despite my art-loving parents taking me to every show and play under the sun since I was a small kid. I still love it but forgot about it as my daily schedule now involves working and then looking after live stock on our lifestyle block. There's only so much one can do when days are long and animals need feeding. So here I was, dragged behind the curtains into the dressing rooms and chatting to the actors and crew. They are a talented switched on familylike bunch that loves their theatre with a passion. Each had their own way of preparing and all of it was peppered with enthusiasm and playing pranks. They value Bev and I'm not surprised. For 68 years old she's energetic and fully equipped to handle anything making jokes right left and centre.

When they were about to start I was ushered back to the front and up the stairs to the seats. I have to say I was very impressed. The whole combination of life theatre, music and lights always makes a huge impact. Howick little theatre is relatively small but cozy. Life Theatre beats a dvd any day of the week by a very long stretch. The Molyneux family in question had a whole array of issues (don't we all). The couple that were in full swing of getting close to seperating each gave their version of events, before the break his and after the break hers. I have to say that some things that were played out or mentioned hit close to home. The actors were superb. I couldn't believe I was watching what they call 'amateur theatre' as what they showed being capable of had nothing to relate to that, and I've seen a lot of shows in the Netherlands with the best national actors and actresses you can poke a stick at.

So if you're in Auckand, go see this play 'Scenes of Seperation' as their opening night will be this thursday I believe. The next time I go up north I will be most happy for Bev to stuff me in her car and take me over there again. We sometimes forget that we have a lot available to us and that it's just around the corner. An eye opener for sure and I really enjoyed being in a theatre again.