Auckland’s newest theatre company brings NZ premiere to life

Auckland’s newest theatre company brings NZ premiere of Edges to life

With only a handful of professional musicals put on each year in Auckland, and most of those well-known and full of spectacle, one theatre company is looking to bring Kiwis the kind of musical theatre they’ve never seen, starting with the NZ premiere of Edges by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

This brand new production, directed by Jason Te Mete and musically directed by Josh Clark, will take over Galatos in Auckland Central from July 7-16 2016.

The cast of four features Kiwi actors who have been busy on stages across the country and globe – Leanne Howell, who’s returning from the West End in London for the production; Tainui Kuru, who recently played Ralph Rackstraw in Ben McDonald’s production of HMS Pinafore; Jonathan Martin, who’s worked professionally around Australasia and the UK; and Awhimai Fraser, who graduated from Whitireia Performance Centre last year.

This is the first time Edges will have been performed in New Zealand, and it’s getting a particularly Kiwi take on it. “We’re really lucky to have been speaking to Justin & Benj about the show, and they’ve given us permission to change lyrics to suit our New Zealand audience,” says director Jason Te Mete. This will see changes from as small as “mom” to “mum” through to changing the title of one song, “Monticello”, to “Invercargill”.

Edges is about those points in your life when you’re on the brink of something – whether it’s ending a relationship, knowing that you need to change something, letting yourself love or finding self-acceptance. It’s told through a series of vignettes – self-contained stories told through song in a way that makes stories accessible to everyone. Each one of us will take something different from it, so everyone should leave having connected with it.

Rebel Theatre, which will provide paid opportunities for performers and creative alike, looks to fill a real gap in the Auckland theatre scene – that of reasonably priced, quality professional musical theatre.

“Currently in Auckland we generally see a maximum of two professional musicals performed every year, despite a wealth of talented people out there,” says Kit Haines, founder of Rebel Theatre. “We want to create theatre that’s of world class quality, but provides locals with opportunities.”

The young, passionate team behind Rebel, which hopes to eventually put on completely original Kiwi musicals (of which there is currently a severe lack), aren’t afraid to provoke a little in order to create a theatre scene that gets them excited.

“Auckland needs and deserves good musical theatre. There are only so many reproductions of Jesus Christ Superstar or Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat that one can see,” says Kit. “It’s not to say that these aren’t decent musicals, but Lloyd Webber hardly provides a challenge, a fresh narrative, or a compelling storytelling for viewers who are seeing the show for the 10th time. We want to be daring and put on productions that are different to anything currently available in Auckland.”

Edges will play from July 7-16 at Galatos in Ponsonby. Tickets start from $30 and can be purchased at http://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2016/jul/edges.

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