THESE BOOMERS ARE A-OK

Posted: Wednesday Jan 25, 2023

SIR ROGER HALL’S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SHOW WINDING UP, ABOUT TWO SPIRITED SENIORS, IS HEADING SOUTH.

The latest play from New Zealand’s most successful playwright and the ‘Godfather of New Zealand Theatre’ Sir Roger Hall is opening in Dunedin and Invercargill in 2023.

Summerset Retirement Villages present Winding Up by Roger Hall at the Mayfair Theatre in Dunedin 6-11 March and the Civic Theatre in Invercargill on 12 March.

The comedy revisits Roger Hall’s signature brilliance in comic playwriting, with the two beloved characters who were at the heart of his smash-hit play Conjugal Rites returning to the stage.

Now in their seventies, Barry and Gen are coping with failing health, the deaths of friends, estranged family, the need to downsize, and (God help everyone) planning their funerals.

As in the Auckland production, these fiercely OK Boomers are played by two of the country’s most celebrated comic actors, Mark Hadlow ONZM (MAMiL, The Hobbit trilogy) and Alison Quigan QSM (A Shortcut to Happiness, Calendar Girls, Shortland Street).

Director Colin McColl says, “Alison and Mark are great friends and have known each other since their drama school days. They are each superb actors in their own right but put them together and it’s comic dynamite. They have years of experience with Roger Hall’s work and an innate understanding of how his characters are comical but honest. I’m looking forward to bringing the production to the South Island.”

Alison Quigan’s theatrical experience spans more than 45 years. In that time, she has acted in and directed more than 150 plays, including 15 Roger Halls, and written 13 original works. She is perhaps best known for her work on Shortland Street, playing Yvonne Jeffries from 2004 to 2010, with other acclaimed roles including Cathy in Mum’s Choir and Mattie Fae in August: Osage County. From 2013- 2022, Quigan was the Performing Arts Manager of the Mangere Arts Centre | Ngā Tohu o Uenuku where she worked to support new work with emerging practitioners in South Auckland. She was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal for Services to Theatre in 2001.

Award-winning actor Mark Hadlow is one of New Zealand’s most prominent performers. Lauded widely for his physical comedy, Hadlow’s critically acclaimed one-man show MAMiL has played to sell-out theatres throughout New Zealand. He has performed in more than 150 plays, from musical theatre to Shakespeare, and appeared in dozens of films and TV series, including Mortal Engines, The Hobbit trilogy, Meet the Feebles, and King Kong. Hadlow was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for Services to the Arts in 2017.

Winding Up showcases Hall in classic form, with his inimitable wit and knowing insight to the fore.

This production of Winding Up was originally produced by Auckland Theatre Company at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in February 2020.

Tickets are now on sale.