Performance Dates: 5th – 16th June
Written by David Hare
Directed by Liz Watkinson
In Rehearsal: Candice de Villiers as Laura and Brian Moore as Arthur
Photo courtesy Liz Watkinson
There is a (possibly apocryphal) story about Keith Moon of 60’s rock band The Who crashing his Rolls Royce into the side the Royal Court theatre, and casually sauntering on to the stage in the middle of a performance and chatting with members of the cast, while the audience gaped. The performance in question? The original 1975 production of David Hare’s “Teeth n’ Smiles”, starring Helen Mirren: a searing look at the madness and excesses of the rock n’ roll years.
June 9th 1969: The rock n’ roll dream is dead. Rock n’ Roll is not going to change the world. What remains is broken relationships, broken egos, and disappointments over what might have been. And drugs. Lots of drugs.
A dysfunctional rock group struggles with their internal conflicts and limitations, to drag themselves from a drug induced stupor on to the stage for one more mindless performance, at one more in an endless, mind numbing series of gigs.
WILSON: Do you know, some woofter comes up to me after the set, says I expectin’ somethin’ altogether more Dionysiac, I says Thursdays we’re Dionysiac, Fridays we’re jus’ fuckin’ awful.
ARTHUR: Right.
WILSON: Not that I care.
Renowned for a series of incisive and politically committed plays looking into various aspects of British society, starting with Slag in 1971, in this early 1975 piece the celebrated British playwright Sir David Hare turns his attention to the bitter-sweet end of the rock ‘n roll era, the ugliness, pettiness and the viciousness behind the power chord and high decibel fuelled hirsute, kaleidoscopic glamour. But it is more than that: at another level, it shows a subtle class struggle between the effete Oxbridge elite and working class lads on the make. Too, it is a sardonic, entertaining, music-laden extravaganza.
Liz Watkinson brings this almost forgotten gem from the past to Titirangi Theatre this June. With a cast of sharp new acting talent and experienced rock musicians, coached by a path breaking and innovative director well known to Titirangi regulars, we are in for a treat. It would be too much to expect Keith Moon to crash into this production with his Rolls Royce, but we are sure Liz and her team will create their own fireworks.
Liz Watkinson took some time off to speak to Sweet As! about this show:
What was it that excited you about this play?
Liz: I’ve wanted to direct this play for a long time. Having grown up in the 1950’s I consider myself lucky to have been around right since the birth of rock and roll and since then the music of each succeeding era has been part of my own personal history. The 60’s of course were an important part of my youth. I loved the bands and the music.
I’ve always been attracted by the wicked humor in this play. I find having music in a play exciting. It adds another very special dimension. I was touched by the darkness at the heart of the play which starts out being wildly comic and gradually becomes very bleak and hopeless as the band self- destructs and the relationships unravel.
What are the key tensions that drive this play? Is it the broken love affair of Arthur (the songwriter) and Maggie (the lead singer), and the disturbance of the status-quo by Laura?
Liz: The key interactions certainly lie with the Maggie, Arthur, Laura love triangle. Also the heavy reliance on drugs, particularly by Peyote, the bass player and Maggie, the lead singer’s out of control consumption of alcohol are both key factors in the band’s decline into chaos.
Have you directed a David Hare play before?
Liz: No, but he’s always been on the short list of plays I want to direct. His plays are so well crafted, the dialogue gets to the heart of the characters and each play really has something to say about the way we live. I have often contemplated directing ‘The Secret Rapture’ and ‘Plenty.’
You have been directing since the 1970’s. Does it still move you?
Liz: Yes, it does. I find the whole process of creating another world on stage utterly engrossing. It’s not just the staging and the interpreting and building the characters, but I like to immerse myself into every facet of the production.
I can hardly remember a time when I wasn’t involved in theatre as my mother was a keen amateur actress. I often went to rehearsals with her and was always fascinated. As I grew older I attended classes with Mary Amore and of course I went on to act myself, but directing always attracted me the most. I liked watching different directors at work. Later, I apprenticed myself to as many of them as I could. I learnt something from each one – good or bad. I suppose what motivates me is the magic of the process of creating that other world, having an interpretation and a vision and working in co-operation with the actors and my crew to bring it to life on the stage.
What are you like, in your private life?
Liz: I live in Titirangi, surrounded by the bush and very close to the Manukau Harbor. I never tire of looking at the beauty around me. I am married with 3 grown-up daughters, 3 sons in law, and 6 grandchildren, who are all wonderful friends. In the summer we all camp together on our property at Leigh Harbor and that is always a very special time for us as a family and for the friends who join us there. I am a voracious reader and have a huge collection of books. I am addicted to smoking and cryptic crosswords. I used to paint in oils, but don’t have time for it presently, as for the past few years I’ve concentrated on writing novels. I’m still working on getting published. For some years I practiced astrology and learnt classical piano. I still play for relaxation and love listening to music of all kinds. My husband and I enjoy walking our dog, Jack, having meals, wine and conversation with friends and family, and of course going to movies, opera and theatre. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel overseas quite a bit, but home is definitely where my heart is. As to letting my hair down, I don’t get the chance very often these days, but my favorite way is to dance. When my daughters were young and at home we would often wind up the stereo and really have a great time.
You are very active in the Auckland theatrical scene, aren’t you? Other than directing plays, I mean.
Liz: I am currently President of Titirangi Theatre and have been for many years so along with chairing committee meetings and furthering plans for the improvement of our theatre, I’m pretty active in all the productions, designing and working on sets, and in choosing our programme for the year. It is a lot of work and being an amateur society I don’t get paid, but I love the place and am very committed to seeing it prosper. My exciting project for this year is mounting a production written by one of our members. Being a writer myself, I’m very keen to help other writers so I’ve been very much involved in work shopping this play and getting it to the point where it is ready for the stage.
Pet peeves?
Liz: The thing that moves me deeply is the lack of critical appraisal of amateur productions, as it would greatly benefit directors, actors and of course audiences. I feel strongly that is very shortsighted of the local newspapers not to send drama critics along to view the productions of at least the major amateur societies. Many people are involved in these productions and collectively they attract a huge audience, which in my opinion means that the press is choosing to ignore the interests of a large number of their readership.
