AUDITIONS for Le Sud
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John ten Velde
Jan 18, 2012, 6:29:31 PM1/18/12
to Tokoroa Little Theatre
AUDITIONS for our next production, LE SUD, will be held at the Little
Theatre on Sunday 29th and tuesday 31st of January at 7pm
Le Sud, by Dave Armstrong is a New Zealand comedy, and requires a cast
of 4 men and 2 women.
Some background information:
Imagine a French-speaking socialist South Island (Le Sud) where people
work only 30 hours a week, enjoy long wine-fuelled lunches, and the
popular Prime Minister is a renowned womaniser.
Crucially Le Sud has huge hydro-electric resources while the North
Zealanders (North Islanders) work long hours and are starved of much-
needed electricity.
Le Sud is the story of a delegation from North Zealand who travels
south to persuade their rich neighbours to provide them with cheap
electricity.
REVIEW of the Wanaka performance:
The well-publicised premise is that in 1838, French settlers in Akaroa
declared the south island of Aotearoa a French colony: Le Sud (a.k.a.
South Zealand). The north island has remained a British colony (North
Zealand).
Le Sud generates most of the electricity consumed in the north and now
North Zealand, in economic meltdown and under threat of insurrection
from the Tuhoe Nation (it's headlined in L' Otago Aujourd'hui so it
must be true!), has sent a delegation of coalition politicians south
to negotiate a more affordable electricity price.
Power politics is the name of the game and expectations are high. Dave
Armstrong has become a Festival of Colour favourite thanks to Niu Sila
(co-written with Oscar Kightley) and King and Country (at the first
festival in 2005) and The Tutor (2007). But those seeking the rich
aftertaste those works offered beyond their immediate wit and
perception will find Le Sud more of a quaffable plonk than a vintage
red; more soufflé than pepper steak.
Yet it takes a writer of skill to whip up a topical socio-political
satire and on that score Armstrong delivers, abetted first by
development through the Auckland Theatre Company Literary Unit with
Raymond Hawthorne, and now by director Conrad Newport with a strong
creative team (from the North Island).
The delegation meets in the conference room of Wanaka's Chateau d'
Infinity, evoked by designer Brian King with plush red curtains, two
Southern Cross flags with the Tricolore and Union Jack in their
respective corners, and pinewood furniture. Paul O'Brien's lighting
design suggests massive windows that frame the view: "Regardez le
lac!"
Heather O'Carroll dominates delectably as the bespectacled, besuited
Dominique Le Bons, Deputy Prime Minister of South Zealand, all
strictly business and uptight hair that, inevitably, gets let down in
an expose of what sexual politics has come to in the 21st century.
Her sexually pro-active (some might say delinquent) Prime Minister,
Francois Duvauchelle, suavely styled by Nick Dunbar, epitomises the
Gallic charm and sophistication of his forbears.
His Minister of Native Affairs and head of Le Tahou iwi, Tama Te
Taonga, is made wicked flesh by Mark Ruka. He prefers a golf club to a
taiaha, and is constantly on his cellphone, let alone the make and the
take as and when any chance arises. To him, his separatist Tuhoe
Nation cuzzie-bros are merely "Children of the Missed Opportunities".
Gavin Rutherford's Prime Minister of North Zealand, Jim Peterson, is
your classic rugger bugger ex-farmer Kiwi bloke trying to juggle the
complexities of an MMP coalition, having sacrificed his marriage for
his career.
Well, truth be told, it was his finding himself at a topless bar in
Manila thanks to the hospitality of his conference hosts that got him
into trouble at home and saw him slump badly in the polls (not to
mention his pole: b-boom). That he should suffer thus from one such
incident while Duvauchelle's stocks soar the more he plays about,
distils the cultural differences between the two islands to a piquant
sauciness.
Paterson's strategy has been to complete his delegation with two
junior coalition partners from opposite ends of the political
spectrum, to ensure he remains in control. His political future hinges
on his returning home with a deal signed that will assure North
Zealanders a continued supply of affordable electricity.
MP Moana Maree Matakana represents the extreme left-wing Maui Party.
Olivia Robinson captures well the inner struggle between her
responsibilities to her party and her people, her basic sense of
integrity and her personal ambition. The question is, will she be
willing to "take one for the team"?
Neatly personified by James Winter, the extreme right-wing Freedom
Party member Lyndsey Marsland, educated at Kings and fluent in French,
sees himself as disadvantaged because he's "a spotty white male with
an IT degree who is bad at sport". He Excels at cooking the
spreadsheets, however, and that is why he's on this team.
The first highlight is the inspired melange of French, Māori and
English as the delegations meet and greet, while the low humour
dimension is founded in their attempts to conduct a powhiri.
Their driving quest, to negotiate a credible electricity price,
generates some excellent satirical shocks at the expense of socialism
and monetarism, French and Kiwi, Māori and Pakeha. No sacred cow is
left unjabbed which, of course, is the currency of such comedy.
But humdrum cliché intrudes in the sexual shenanigan sections. Surely
we can explore the arts of expedient seduction more credibly and
interestingly without resorting to OTT vamping redolent of early
Hollywood screen 'sirens'. And when these interactions occur, the
others in the background appear to sit and watch, which seems unlikely
somehow.
Another anomoly, less easily solved, is the retaining of largely
British names for a South Zealand colonised by the French in 1838. But
without that contrivance many jokes would disappear.
Nevertheless there are laughs aplenty, not only at topical quips, the
shafting of 'political correctness' and the witty insights into
cultural differences, but also at Duvauchelle's tutoring of Peterson
in the finer arts of seduction - Dunbar's exquisite physicality
transcending all - and Le Bons' 'quelle horreur' revelations at her
true sexual nature.
Some may call Le Sud a farce but it doesn't quite qualify for me
because its notions of subterfuge and deception are not carried
through into actions that we enjoy from the privileged perspective of
knowing more than any one character does. For example, Marsland and
Matakana's realisation that if Peterson returns triumphant they will
lose traction in the coalition, and Matakana and Te Tonga's
consideration of a bi-lateral Tangata Whenua counter-offensive promise
something but deliver nothing.
The ending is not a pay-off from all that has gone before. It comes
out of left field, or to be more precise from deep below the North's
bubbling mud pools. That's fine but it's part of what keeps it in the
realm of extended revue sketch: a broad comedy in the style of
Diplomatic Immunity, fun while it lasts but leaving us with little to
chew on beyond the remembrance of good one-liners.
What a plus, though, that a small regional arts festival is able to
commission a populist work that links directly to its home town. With
further seasons planned for Christchurch (later this year) and Dunedin
and Arrowtown (next year), it becomes their gift to the nation.
Theatre on Sunday 29th and tuesday 31st of January at 7pm
Le Sud, by Dave Armstrong is a New Zealand comedy, and requires a cast
of 4 men and 2 women.
Some background information:
Imagine a French-speaking socialist South Island (Le Sud) where people
work only 30 hours a week, enjoy long wine-fuelled lunches, and the
popular Prime Minister is a renowned womaniser.
Crucially Le Sud has huge hydro-electric resources while the North
Zealanders (North Islanders) work long hours and are starved of much-
needed electricity.
Le Sud is the story of a delegation from North Zealand who travels
south to persuade their rich neighbours to provide them with cheap
electricity.
REVIEW of the Wanaka performance:
The well-publicised premise is that in 1838, French settlers in Akaroa
declared the south island of Aotearoa a French colony: Le Sud (a.k.a.
South Zealand). The north island has remained a British colony (North
Zealand).
Le Sud generates most of the electricity consumed in the north and now
North Zealand, in economic meltdown and under threat of insurrection
from the Tuhoe Nation (it's headlined in L' Otago Aujourd'hui so it
must be true!), has sent a delegation of coalition politicians south
to negotiate a more affordable electricity price.
Power politics is the name of the game and expectations are high. Dave
Armstrong has become a Festival of Colour favourite thanks to Niu Sila
(co-written with Oscar Kightley) and King and Country (at the first
festival in 2005) and The Tutor (2007). But those seeking the rich
aftertaste those works offered beyond their immediate wit and
perception will find Le Sud more of a quaffable plonk than a vintage
red; more soufflé than pepper steak.
Yet it takes a writer of skill to whip up a topical socio-political
satire and on that score Armstrong delivers, abetted first by
development through the Auckland Theatre Company Literary Unit with
Raymond Hawthorne, and now by director Conrad Newport with a strong
creative team (from the North Island).
The delegation meets in the conference room of Wanaka's Chateau d'
Infinity, evoked by designer Brian King with plush red curtains, two
Southern Cross flags with the Tricolore and Union Jack in their
respective corners, and pinewood furniture. Paul O'Brien's lighting
design suggests massive windows that frame the view: "Regardez le
lac!"
Heather O'Carroll dominates delectably as the bespectacled, besuited
Dominique Le Bons, Deputy Prime Minister of South Zealand, all
strictly business and uptight hair that, inevitably, gets let down in
an expose of what sexual politics has come to in the 21st century.
Her sexually pro-active (some might say delinquent) Prime Minister,
Francois Duvauchelle, suavely styled by Nick Dunbar, epitomises the
Gallic charm and sophistication of his forbears.
His Minister of Native Affairs and head of Le Tahou iwi, Tama Te
Taonga, is made wicked flesh by Mark Ruka. He prefers a golf club to a
taiaha, and is constantly on his cellphone, let alone the make and the
take as and when any chance arises. To him, his separatist Tuhoe
Nation cuzzie-bros are merely "Children of the Missed Opportunities".
Gavin Rutherford's Prime Minister of North Zealand, Jim Peterson, is
your classic rugger bugger ex-farmer Kiwi bloke trying to juggle the
complexities of an MMP coalition, having sacrificed his marriage for
his career.
Well, truth be told, it was his finding himself at a topless bar in
Manila thanks to the hospitality of his conference hosts that got him
into trouble at home and saw him slump badly in the polls (not to
mention his pole: b-boom). That he should suffer thus from one such
incident while Duvauchelle's stocks soar the more he plays about,
distils the cultural differences between the two islands to a piquant
sauciness.
Paterson's strategy has been to complete his delegation with two
junior coalition partners from opposite ends of the political
spectrum, to ensure he remains in control. His political future hinges
on his returning home with a deal signed that will assure North
Zealanders a continued supply of affordable electricity.
MP Moana Maree Matakana represents the extreme left-wing Maui Party.
Olivia Robinson captures well the inner struggle between her
responsibilities to her party and her people, her basic sense of
integrity and her personal ambition. The question is, will she be
willing to "take one for the team"?
Neatly personified by James Winter, the extreme right-wing Freedom
Party member Lyndsey Marsland, educated at Kings and fluent in French,
sees himself as disadvantaged because he's "a spotty white male with
an IT degree who is bad at sport". He Excels at cooking the
spreadsheets, however, and that is why he's on this team.
The first highlight is the inspired melange of French, Māori and
English as the delegations meet and greet, while the low humour
dimension is founded in their attempts to conduct a powhiri.
Their driving quest, to negotiate a credible electricity price,
generates some excellent satirical shocks at the expense of socialism
and monetarism, French and Kiwi, Māori and Pakeha. No sacred cow is
left unjabbed which, of course, is the currency of such comedy.
But humdrum cliché intrudes in the sexual shenanigan sections. Surely
we can explore the arts of expedient seduction more credibly and
interestingly without resorting to OTT vamping redolent of early
Hollywood screen 'sirens'. And when these interactions occur, the
others in the background appear to sit and watch, which seems unlikely
somehow.
Another anomoly, less easily solved, is the retaining of largely
British names for a South Zealand colonised by the French in 1838. But
without that contrivance many jokes would disappear.
Nevertheless there are laughs aplenty, not only at topical quips, the
shafting of 'political correctness' and the witty insights into
cultural differences, but also at Duvauchelle's tutoring of Peterson
in the finer arts of seduction - Dunbar's exquisite physicality
transcending all - and Le Bons' 'quelle horreur' revelations at her
true sexual nature.
Some may call Le Sud a farce but it doesn't quite qualify for me
because its notions of subterfuge and deception are not carried
through into actions that we enjoy from the privileged perspective of
knowing more than any one character does. For example, Marsland and
Matakana's realisation that if Peterson returns triumphant they will
lose traction in the coalition, and Matakana and Te Tonga's
consideration of a bi-lateral Tangata Whenua counter-offensive promise
something but deliver nothing.
The ending is not a pay-off from all that has gone before. It comes
out of left field, or to be more precise from deep below the North's
bubbling mud pools. That's fine but it's part of what keeps it in the
realm of extended revue sketch: a broad comedy in the style of
Diplomatic Immunity, fun while it lasts but leaving us with little to
chew on beyond the remembrance of good one-liners.
What a plus, though, that a small regional arts festival is able to
commission a populist work that links directly to its home town. With
further seasons planned for Christchurch (later this year) and Dunedin
and Arrowtown (next year), it becomes their gift to the nation.
dale
Jan 18, 2012, 6:37:34 PM1/18/12
to tokoroa-lit...@googlegroups.com
Sounds great! At first I read it as 'Le Stud' - amazing the difference one
letter can make.
letter can make.
Some background information:
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