Contemporary Cabaret Show Brings Love, Laughter And Wine

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday 24 July, 2012
Contemporary Cabaret Show Brings Love, Laughter And Wine to Q Theatre

The Red Chair, a unique blend of a sophisticated New York cabaret and the sultry seduction of an intimate European piano bar, is coming to Auckland’s ‘Q theatre’ for just two weeks from September 21 – October 6, 2012.

It’s a cabaret show with a twist – discover cabaret gems that haven’t been done to death, and experience some favourites in a way they’ve never been heard before.
The Red Chair is a live music show devised by up and coming producer/director Aaron Tindell with musical direction by Robin Kelly. It offers everything from Noel Coward to Boy George, with a dash of Sondheim, Weill and Porter, along with other singing greats.

The show is performed in a classic table and chair cabaret setting – perfect for sharing with friends over a platter of nibbles and a bottle of wine – available for purchase with tickets.

One of the intriguing aspects to The Red Chair is the specially lit red chairs, which serve as performance spaces at selected tables in the audience. “The audience becomes part of the performance without being the performance,” says Tindell. “The eclectic performances in The Red Chair all have a common thread – the exploration and confession of the many perspectives within relationships, and the obessive emotions and feelings these bring out in all of us.”

The Red Chair is a showcase of emerging New Zealand talent and celebration of some more established performers. The cast includes Will Barling, who featured in Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Cabaret in 2010; award-winning actor Andrew Laing, a familiar face on stage and screen in New Zealand including Spartacus and Legend of the Seeker; New Zealand’s Got Talent semi-finalist Melissa Nordhaus; and Roz Turnbull of Outrageous Fortune,TheAlmighty JohnsonsandShortland Streetfame.

The best of New Zealand furniture design is also going to be on display in The Red Chair, with Essenze providing designer Todd Stevenson’s Evolute chair as the visual focal point of the show. Other brands lending their support include Elizabeth Arden, and renown Central Otago winery Akarua, along with funding support from the Friedlander Foundation and Whitecliffe College of Art and Design – where Tindell is completing his Masters of Arts in Arts Management. Tindell is using The Red Chair as part of his Masters to provide the research for an auto-ethnographic study in producing music theatre in Auckland.

“Essentially, I am investigating the day to day experience of producing,” says Tindell. “This research project is unique in that there are very few studies looking at theatre producing from the inside, in fact, there are few ethnographic studies on theatre-making in New Zealand, fullstop.”

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Background information
About the cast


Roz Turnbull
After featuring on our TV screens in many Kiwi favourites including Outrageous Fortune, The Almighty Johnsons, Mercy Peak and most recently Shortland St, Roz returns to the theatre with The Red Chair to reveal her singing talent and soulful performances.

Andrew Laing
Andrew is no stranger to cabaret after featuring in the Silo productions of Berlin and Jacques Brel. His long-established acting career on stage and screen includes roles in Underbelly NZ, Spartacus, Legend of the Seekers, and Shortland St, along with many stage performances at prominent theatres in Auckland and Wellington. With The Red Chair, Andrew will give audiences the chance to hear his vocal talent and experience his arresting stage presence.

Will Barling
William Barling graduated from the New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD) in 2006 and has been a rising star in music, dance and modelling ever since. He has performed in many New Zealand theatre productions to rave reviews, including Michael Hurst’s Cabaret in 2010, and Rise and Monster Burlesque in 2011.

Melissa Nordhaus
A semi-finalist in New Zealand’s Got Talent, Melissa is a fresh talent and one to watch – she performed the lead in Miss Saigon and as Eponine in Les Miserables in 2009, and alongside Annie Crummer in Rent in 2010. Melissa has also performed with Tina Cross and Caitlyn Smith, as well as performing and touring internationally with several bands as the lead vocalist.

About Producer/Director Aaron Tindell
Aaron is a seasoned theatre professional who recently established Dionysos, a not-for-profit music theatre production company. The Red Chair, which Aaron conceived, created and directed for the first time in 2007, is Dionysos’ first production. The Red Chair received three Northern Area Performance Theatre Awards (NAPTA) nominations when it debuted.
Earlier this year, Aaron assisted director Jennifer Ward-Lealand on the Last Tapes Theatre Production of The Last Five Years staged at the Herald Theatre. Aaron also assisted Jennifer in Silo Theatre’s production of The Mystery of Irma Vep, featuring Michael Hurst and Oliver Driver, in 2007.
In 2009, Aaron was nominated for Best Director for Nunsense, and he won an award for best male actor in a supporting role for Carmen Ghia in The Producers, at the Northern Area Performance and Theatre Awards.
Aaron received his acting training at Unitec, Auckland, graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor of Performance and Screen Arts, and is currently completing his Masters of Arts in Arts Management at Whitecliffe College of Art and Design.
Later this year, Aaron will direct Into The Woods for NSMTat the Pumphouse, Takapuna.
About Musical Director Robin Kelly
Robin graduated with a Bmus/BSc from the University of Auckland in 2011 majoring in composition, and has studied classical piano under the Australian Music Examination Board and Trinity College London for more than 15 years.

Robin currently works in and around Auckland as an accompanist, repetiteur, rehearsal pianist and musical director. Robin has worked with many of Auckland’s theatrical societies including Auckland Theatre Company as musical director for the Young and Hungry festival’s Fitz Bunny: The Lust for Glory (2010), Amici Productions for their production of 42ndStreet (2010), the Peach Theatre Company, Centre City Music Theatre (CCMT) and as a tutor for the National Youth Theatre Company (NYTC) and Centre City Music Theatre (CCMT).

Robin is the director of Last Tapes Music Theatre Company and was the musical director, pianist, and production manager for Last Tapes Theatre Company’s 2012 production of The Last Five Years.

About the Evolute chair

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About Akarua
Akarua vineyard is located in the Central Otago sub-region of Bannockburn, which has been described as the “Jewel in Central Otago’s crown”. The 50-hectare vineyard was planted in 1996 with Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. The Akarua team is focused on managing the quality of the fruit in the vineyard through to winemaking in the winery, giving the team complete control from vineyard through to bottle. In February this year Akarua released two sparkling wines to complement its portfolio.

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