Cheeky show for one

A fun and cheeky tale of family drama recounted through a muchloved grandmother who has recently taken to talking to a chicken — that’s the upcoming one woman show Still Life With Chickens.

The slice-of-life comedy-drama, which is part of next month’s Malcolm Flowers Insurances Taupo¯ Winter Festival has been described as intimate, heartwarming, funny and uplifting.

The play has strong Samoan influences, with the main character, writer and director all being Samoan and the puppeteer Niuean.

The main character is played by Goretti (Letti) Chadwick, who is known for being one half of the comedy duo Pani & Pani and who is described as giving “a tour-deforce performance in bringing this glorious character to life”.

Letti says the idea for the play came to writer David Mamea when he and his wife visited his mother who had taken to bringing in a pumpkin from the garden and going to bed with it at night time.

“David’s wife said to him, we need to get her someone to love, and that was how the story came about,” says Letti. This will be the 52nd time the show has been performed.

“Going solo on stage is something that I had to wait until I was in my 40s to do. It’s so demanding.”

After the show Letti hopes to sample some of Taupo¯’s nightlife with her husband and the Auckland Theatre Company team.