Rehearsal revealed at festival
The stars arrived on the red carpet all at once, barely pausing as they poured through the doors in search of a coveted seat at the highly-anticipated premiere of The Rehearsal.
Last night’s sold-out Kiwi audience was the first to be treated to the big-screen adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s first novel which had its first outing at the New Zealand International Film Festival at Auckland’s Civic Theatre.
Starring James Rolleston (Boy and The Dark Horse) and Kerry Fox (The Dressmaker), The Rehearsal follows a group of teenagers as they learn their saxophone teacher has been having an affair with a student.
Kiwi internet sensation Jamie Curry and country singer Marlon Williams also star in the film.
Catton wrote The Rehearsal for her creative writing Master’s thesis at Victoria University when she was 22, and the script was co-written by award-winning novelist Emily Perkins and Alison Maclean, who also directed the film.
Catton became a household name when she won the Man Booker Prize in 2013 for her second novel The Luminaries, which is being made into a BBC mini-series.
She arrived at the premiere with her husband Stephen Toussaint, pausing briefly for a photo with Ella Edward – one of the film’s young stars.
Teenager Edward, whose previous scren credits have included television roles on The Legend of the Seeker and Power Rangers, said she wasn’t nervous about the premiere despite all the attention. ‘‘I’m feeling strangely normal.’’
However, the emotions were a bit different for Rolleston, who arrived with his mum Angeline, grandmother Christina, aunty June Edwards, and girlfriend Ayesha Taylor. ‘‘The nerves have been kicking in but I am excited for everyone to see it,’’ he said.
Before the screening, producer Bridget Ikin said the movie had been filmed in Auckland, and the final cut had been kept under wraps until last night’s premiere.
‘‘It just felt completely right and exciting to bring the film back here. We are thrilled,’’ she said.
Director Alison Maclean said the Civic was her ‘‘favourite theatre’’ and it was ‘‘an enormous honour and thrill’’ to have the world premiere there.
Also among the crowd were actors Angela Bloomfield, Michael Behren and Tandi Wright, and acting coach Miranda Harcourt.
The Rehearsal will also be screened at as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival in Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch.