Two-woman comedy show bringing laughs to rural sector
A comedy show helping rural folk get off the farm and have a laugh is coming to the central North Island.
Farmstrong, along with the Rural Support Trust, is bringing The Bitches’ Box: Episode Four to Wairarapa, Tararua and Manawatū, areas affected by Cyclone Gabrielle in February last year.
In the show, actors Emma Newborn and Amelia Dunbar revisit some of their mostloved dog characters. Set on a high country station, chaos ensues when the sheep are being mustered off the backblocks.
Farmstrong spokesperson Gerard Vaughan said various versions of the show had been running for more than a decade, bringing comedy and a social barbecue to community halls and woolsheds.
This time around, performances are scheduled for the Gladstone Complex near Masterton on May 9, Weber Hall southeast of Dannevirke on May 10, and Camp Rangi Woods in Pohangina on May 11.
Vaughan said it was a chance for people who had been dealing with the fallout since the cyclone to “get off farm and connect with their neighbours and their community” – and, importantly, to have a laugh.
“When people are going through these really tough times, we need to stay socially connected and have some enjoyment.”
He said the feedback from previous shows was that they helped to put people in a “much better headspace to face what they’re having to face each day”. Farmstrong promotes wellbeing support for people in farming or the agriculture sector.
Gerard Vaughan, Farmstrong
Vaughan said the organisation’s research showed that farmers were good at putting things in place to maintain the farm, but not for their wellbeing.
Farmers listened to other farmers, he said, so people would take notice if they began talking to each other.
Last year, 14,000 farmers put an improvement in their own wellbeing down to Farmstrong initiatives.
Tickets to the show and more information are available on the Farmstrong website. Tickets cost $15, which includes a barbecue dinner.
“When people are going through these really tough times, we need to stay socially connected and have some enjoyment.”