It will be all right on the night
Sainsbury and Parker’s theatrical hijinks come to the stage in a fictional Levin
TIt is jam packed with ridiculous laughs and quirky characters. Tessa Waters
he Opening Night Before Christmas is a hilarious guide on how (not) to make a Christmas show. It’s parttime rehearsals, full-time drama on the Centrepoint stage this festive season.
The Levin Players are just about to start rehearsals for their annual Christmas show — the biggest highlight on Levin’s calendar — when director Rosa-Lynne Martin-Shanks (played by Centrepoint’s artistic director Kate Louise Elliott) throws a spanner in the works by announcing they’re going to throw tradition out the window.
Having been exposed to the bright lights of the big city, Rosa-Lynne wants to create a show that will put Levin on the theatrical map, leaving the small community theatre group with just 24 hours to rehearse their show and get it ready for opening night. Tensions run high as the show’s Broadway-aspiring director pushes for a new high-concept, Santa-free drama, while love blossoms backstage, and the stage manager plans a coup.
The Opening Night Before Christmas
is written by Tom Sainsbury and Chris Parker, who appear on Have You Been Paying Attention? and 7 Days.
“As you would expect from the brilliant minds of Tom Sainsbury and Chris Parker, this show is so much fun,” director Tessa Waters says.
“It is jam packed with ridiculous laughs and quirky characters.
“And we have an absolute dream cast bringing it to life.”
The quirky locals of Levin will be brought to life by real life auntienephew
Elliott and Tom Knowles (Shrek: The Musical), Palmy actor Carrie Green (Under the Vines) and Andrew Paterson (A Slightly Isolated Dog’s Don Juan).
The Opening Night Before Christmas is a celebration of small-town New Zealand, the lengths we go to to save Christmas tradition and the dangers that happen when we don’t stay in our own lane.
The show runs November 12 to December 17. Tickets from Centrepoint.