The Triumphants -Two Actors, Two Solo Plays

10 July 2012
For immediate release

The Triumphants -Two Actors, Two Solo Plays, Two Incredible Stories

1stLaydee Productions in association with Celery House presents The Triumphants. Two actors, two solo plays, two incredible stories directed by Abigail Greenwood (Young and Hungry COW,The Needies, Crims, Height of the Eiffel Tower, Chalk) and performed by Aidee Walker and Renee Lyons…And Then You Die and NICK.
. . . And Then You Die is the darkly comic tale of the naïve, sweet Debbie Le Valient by award winning New Zealand playwright Tom Sainsbury (Dance Troupe Supreme, Crims, Super City).
Debbie (Aidee Walker, Outrageous Fortune’s Tv Villain ‘Draska’, Nothing Trivial, How to Meet Girls From a Distance, The Jono Project) wants the perfect life. A nice home, husband, children, beautiful body and loads of friends. But lonely Debbie only works at a humble shoe store. And friends, boyfriends and a family? Forget about it. Debbie also has a voice in her head constantly reminding her what a useless waste of space she is, especially when she binge eats. Which is basically all the time.

And then one day, Debbie snaps and decides to take what she wants from life. Husband, home and a great job, here Debbie comes! And who cares if there’s a little bloodshed along the way. Life’s a bitch and then you die? Maybe it’s time for Debbie to be that bitch.

...And Then You Die a collaboration between Tom Sainsbury and Aidee Walker debuted as a one act play in 2006, it was developed for three people as a three act play and performed in NZ, USA and London. In 2009 …And Then You Die was performed by Aidee Walker at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a one woman show.

‘Aidee Walker is dynamic and captivating to watch. She plays multiple characters with fluid ease in a way that is always exciting for the audience’-Katharine Viner, Deputy Editor, The Guardian, Edinburgh Fringe , 2009

‘Sainsbury is a remarkable talent…clearly blessed – or cursed? – with a compulsion to make plays. I can see him fast becoming a classic playwright of his generation'-Theatreview

Brought to life by Renee Lyons (Joseph and Mahina, Toys, Super City) and based on inspiring true events NICK follows one of Dunedin’s local heroes, sportsman Nick Chisholm.

After enduring a major stroke on the rugby field in 2000 Nick went from adrenalin junkie to 22 months confined to a hospital bed. He had a condition known in the medical world as ‘Locked in Syndrome’, described by those who have experienced it as ‘pure hell’.

Unable to move or speak Nick experienced unbelievable frustration while those around him believed him to be brain dead. In the years to follow Nick learnt the hard way who his friends were and what really mattered in life. His fierce determination, strength of character and wicked sense of humour accumulated to incredible progress that baffled the medical profession.

He forged unlikely friendships and influenced people to change their lives in ways they never thought possible - all from the static position of his wheel chair and the silent voice of his communication board. NICK is a deeply moving and often hilarious story about this man and the people who have shaped his world - for better or for worse. It is a tale of triumph over adversity, of friendship and of love.
Inspirational, heart-warming, black and hilarious The Triumphants is a celebration of the power of the human spirit to find joy in dark places.
Designed by Jane Hakaria, with sound design by Alistar Deverick, The Triumphants will be performed at Q Theatre, Q Loft, 305 Queen St, Auckland, 9-18 August, 8pm, Sunday 12 August, 6pm, Monday 13 August, 7pm. Buy tickets at Q Box Office (09) 309 9771 or www.qtheatre.co.nz .Please note booking fees will apply. R16 violence and sexual references.

ENDS

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