Christmas comedy show tells Mary’s story

Christmas comedy show tells Mary’s story

Mary and her devoted husband, Joseph, were audience favourites in the Discharge comedy collective’s award-winning show “What is this, Woman’s Hour?” The couple return to the stage in a new show called “Mary’s Christmas”, on at the Newtown Community Centre in Wellington on 16 and 17 December.

In this classic road trip story, Joseph and the heavily pregnant Mary travel to Bethlehem for the census. On the way, Mary prepares herself for the toils of mothering a famous child, three wise men struggle to buy baby-appropriate gifts and Joseph learns the truth about childbirth.

Mary’s story is interspersed with a series of sketches exploring different aspects of Christmas, including family dynamics, seasonal loneliness and a very unconventional Christmas pantomime.

Discharge has members in both Dunedin and Wellington. The main storyline was written by sisters Rosie Howells in Dunedin and Abby Howells in Wellington, with others contributing sketches.

The show will be performed in Dunedin with a different director, cast and crew on 11 and 12 December, with all profits from both shows going to Women’s Refuge.

“We wanted to do a show that was funny, uplifting and a little bit silly for the end of the year, and support a great cause at the same time,” Director Caitlin McNaughton says. “It’s also been really cool getting to collaborate with the Dunedin members, using technology like Skype and Google Drive.”

Abby, who plays the role of Mary (as she did in “What is this, Woman’s Hour?”) in the Wellington show, describes the Mary and Joseph story as a celebration of Mary. “It’s a funny, warm show for Christmas. All of the characters are quirky and likable in their own way - even Herod is more than just a one-dimensional villain.”

Kate Schrader, who plays Joseph, says they chose Newtown Community Centre as the venue because of its community vibe. “We love Newtown. I live there and Caitlin works around the corner at the Newtown Library. Celebrating community is a big part of Christmas for us, so the Community centre felt like the perfect place for this show,” Kate says.

“We also want the show to have the feel of an end-of-year school production and the Newtown space reminds us of a school hall”, Caitlin adds.

The Wellington cast is Abby Howells, Caitlin McNaughton, Kate Schrader, Catriona Tipene and Jennifer O’Sullivan.

Discharge’s “What is this, Woman’s Hour?” won Best Comedy 2013 Dunedin Fringe Festival and was nominated Best Comedy in the 2014 NZ Fringe Festival.

Its most recent show, Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die, written and performed by Abby Howells, Caitlin McNaughton and Kate Schrader, enjoyed a sellout season at BATS Theatre in June 2014. The actors say they are planning to reserve a seat for their favourite actor.

“We know he’s a great supporter of charities, so just in case … “

Mary’s Christmas is on at the Newtown Community Centre in Wellington, 8pm on 16 and 17 December. Book tickets online at http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2014/marys-christmas/wellington/tickets

What the reviews said:

“Lively and unpretentious … ” (“What is this, Woman’s Hour?”, Theatreview)

“An hour of hugely carried short and sharp laugh-so-hard-you’ll-piss-your-pants type sketches … ” (“What is this, Woman’s Hour?”, Theatreview)

“Laugh-out-loud…highly entertaining character-based comedy … ” (“Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die”, Theatreview)

“The audience roared its approval throughout … “” (“Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die”, The Dominion Post)

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