Re-interpreting Charles Dickens
A show starring one woman, playing 15 different kooky Charlies Dickensesque characters, will be staged in the Aoraki region.
Olive Copperbottom is written and performed by Kiwi comedian Penny Ashton.
‘‘So it’s a one woman Charles Dickens musical where I play 15 different characters,’’ Ashton said.
The show was written in the style of a Dickens musical, not a musical that already existed, she said.
‘‘I’ve sort of taken all of his world and character types and story lines and woven it into a brand new story.’’
The upshot of that was that if someone was unfamiliar with Dicken’s work, ‘‘it doesn’t matter because it’s a new story’’.
Ashton did not change costumes between characters, ‘‘I just flick between them with my physicality and my voice’’, but remained in a dress - part of which was crafted from remnants of her wedding dress.
‘‘I had a big sort of 50s chiffon-ee floral wedding dress. I’m a big fan of florals and clashing patterns.’’
Ashton has been performing around New Zealand for many years. In 2007 she began touring Hot Pink Bits, a show about the history of the sex industry.
‘‘I started off doing sort of filthy cabaret,’’ she admitted to.
She could understand if doing shows set in Dickens and Jane Austen eras seemed like an ‘‘unexpected turn of direction’’.
‘‘But I did do classics and English at university. It’s a wide range of things and I enjoy playing all the different characters as well.’’
After Hot Pink Bits, she was a part of an Jane Austen themed improvised musical called Austen Found, which was well received and led to her writing Promise and Promiscuity.
Promise and Promiscuity saw her playing nine different characters in an Austen style story.
She toured it for three years before deciding to do something new. ‘‘It seemed a logical next step.’’
‘‘I’ve always been a big fan of period dramas, I went to see Sense and Sensibility when I lived in London at the Empire Theatre, which is in Leicester Square, which is a gigantic theatre, to see this whole beautiful world painted in front of me with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson.’’
Olive Copperbottom is an Arts on Tour NZ show. It will be staged in on April 15 in Oamaru, April 17 in Twizel and April 18 in Geraldine.
For times and ticket details see aotnz.co.nz