Cringeworthy Is Travelling Back To The ‘60s With This Psychedelic Blast From The Past!

Cringeworthy - Swinging in the 60s is a brand new live show and a far-out tribute to Kiwiana music and culture in the 1960s.

Following on from the success of Cringe Worthy! (2019) and Cringeworthy - The 80s! (2021), this is director, Andrea Sanders’, next foray into New Zealand's musical past. The show is set to premier at Circa Theatre in Wellington from 1st - 29th April and features a cast of four singing and dancing their way through the chart-topping singles of the decade, and revisiting the cultural moment through hilarious spoken interludes.

Andrea Sanders, says, “It seemed like a natural progression to go back to the 60's for this next show. It was such a vibrant era in terms of music and fashion. The reason I was initially inspired to write the first Cringeworthy [70's] was largely because of my childhood and the music that influenced me. We really did not have many options in comparison to kids today with all the different musical outlets they have at the touch of an iPhone.”

Both Cringe Worthy! and Cringeworthy - The 80s!, which explored music from the ‘70s and ‘80s respectively, were met with huge crowds and critical success. Cringeworthy - Swinging in the 60s was born from popular demand by a generation of people keen to relive the musical nostalgia and cultural cringe of a younger New Zealand.

Sanders continues, “I sat in my bedroom and listened to the top 40 along with my LP's and 45's of The Hollies, Beatles, Lulu to name a few. And I got to know songs inside out, lyrically, harmony wise, and funnily enough I still remember them all to this day. So this show is a collection of songs that I really liked and grew up with.”

Sanders will appear on stage alongside three other veteran performers. Jeff Kingsford Brown has been performing at Circa Theatre for decades and was a member of the original Cringe Worthy! cast. Both Jared Pallesen and Rebecca Ansell are new to the Cringeworthy franchise, but at the end of 2022 were on stage in Les Miserable at the St James Theatre in Wellington. The two youngest members of the cast, Amadee Wilson and Annabella Milburn, are both musical theatre students studying at Te Auaha and will be grooving in the background as go-go dancers as industry experience for their study.

In a 2020 review of Cringe Worthy!, Ilona Hanne wrote, “Cringeworthy is a beautiful, tuneful and joyous love letter to an entire decade, and makes for a great night out.”

Cringeworthy - Swinging in the 60s promises to be a weird, wonderful and joyous night out packed full of nostalgia for all - not just those who lived through it!

Cringeworthy - Swinging in the 60s!

1 - 29 April, 2023

Circa Theatre, Wellington

Tickets available from circa.co.nz

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