Isaac Theatre Royal’s structural report reads: “The building, although moderately damaged, has performed extremely well in an event much greater than any strengthening was designed for.” Isaac Theatre Royal will be closed until 31 October 2011 to allow for remedial work on the Edwardian building. General Manager Neil Cox says: “The goodwill and support we have received from the wider global entertainment world towards our city, our people and our theatre has been astounding. We will draw on that good nature and support going forward to ensure Isaac Theatre Royal will be a shining light once again for performing arts in Christchurch.”

New Zealand playwright Carl Nixon had adapted one of New Zealand’s best-loved children’s stories, Margaret Mahy’s The Great Piratical Rumbustification. The latest play of The Court Theatre opens this Monday 27 September and will play throughout the entire school holidays. Shows are at 11am and 1pm daily (11am only on Saturdays), and you can book tickets online or at the Box Office on +64 3 963 0870.

The Great Piratical Rumbustification is all about young Oliver Terrapin whose parents have gone out for the evening and leave him alone with a babysitter. However, the babysitter isn’t just any old babysitter, but happens to be a pirate! So instead of hopping into bed and going to sleep when it’s bedtime, Oliver is in for a Great Piratical Rumbustification.

Go on and take your kids – it’s bound to be good fun. The young’uns can even dress up in their best pirate gear and sea-faring outfits.

The Great Piratical Rumbustification at The Court Theatre: 27 September 2010 – 9 October 2010

The Great Piratical Rumbustification

A good sign that Christchurch is quickly getting back up on its feet is that the iconic Court Theatre in the Arts Centre district has re-opened its doors and is back with great plays. Why not take your mind off things for a while and check out their latest play, Don’t Mention Casablanca? The opening for the drama has been rescheduled for this Saturday (18 September).

Written by one of New Zealand’s great playwrights, Michelanne Forster and directed by Ross Gumbley, the play promises to be a great success. Don’t Mention Casablanca is inspired by Michelanne Forster’s grandmother, Thilde Forster. Thilde (Lara Macgregor) is a rebellious young Jewish woman, growing up in the Second World War and forced to leave her son behind under the looming presence of Hitler. Initially set in 1930s Vienna, the play moves across continents as it follows Thilde Forster on her search for a better life for her family.

Tickets for Don’t Mention Casablanca are available at The Court Theatre (20 Worcester Boulevard, Christchurch) or online, and they cost $45 for adults, $26 for students and $15 for school children.

Don’t Mention Casablanca: 18 September – 9 October 2010

Written by British playwright, writer and television producer Chris Chibnall, the play was shortlisted for the prestigious Meyer-Whitworth Award and has been staged around the world, including a three-month run in Paris. Chris Chibnall is best known for his contribution to the science fiction series Torchwood, Dr Who and Life on Mars, and initially produced Kiss Me Like You Mean It at Soho Theater in London.

Kiss Me Like You Mean It is set in midsummer Manchester, and deals with the timid initial stages of a young couple’s relationship and the sad ending of a life-time bond between couple, married 50 years.

Tickets for the great play are available from $13 and you can book online or via phone: +64 3 355 8874.

What a beautiful scene. Layers of cool blonde timber in the furniture, the trees and the backdrop of a manor house where a shutter opens briefly, shedding a square of golden light. It is evening. Crickets chirp and shadows play on the dark indigo of the lake beyond. We are perfectly transported to a summer evening in rural Russia, where the air is close and Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplyov (Owen Black) is about to see his first play come to life on stage. It’s a makeshift outdoor stage and the audience is a small gathering of locals, but to Konstantin, this moment is everything; his mother is watching.

His passport may read ‘shopkeeper class from Kiev’, but his mother is Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina (Rima Te Wiata), a highly successful actress in popular theatre. Konstantin is well aware that his mother is having difficulty with the idea of passing on the mantle of artistic success to a younger generation – “When I’m not there she’s 32. When I’m there, she’s 42.” – but his deep need for her approval keeps him trying to win it, however vulnerable it makes him.

Chekhov is a master of capturing the minutiae of family life, with all its beauty and its drama. Perceived by some as heavy and dark, Chekhov in fact regarded himself as a comic writer even when his stories had tragedy at their core. This Tom Stoppard translation has a lightness and compassionate warmth that lets us laugh tenderly (perhaps recognising something of ourselves in our weaker moments) at the desperate actions humans resort to in the very attempt to preserve their dignity – even to the point of inflicting cruelty on others.

A hugely talented cast breathes real life into this superb story. Visually exquisite, with gorgeous lighting and an evocative soundtrack capturing the landscape that was so integral to Chekhov, this is a highly polished production of one of the great theatrical works. Whether you’ve had the pleasure of encountering Chekhov before or not, The Seagull is a must-see this month at The Court Theatre.

The season runs until 12 June 2010.
For bookings, phone 03 963 0870 or visit www.courttheatre.org.nz.