When Auckland Theatre Company put out their 2010 program late last year, two plays particularly stood out for me. The first was Cabaret - performed in a Salon Perdu Spiegeltent and starring a former classmate of mine to be done at the end of the year, the second was Le Sud, a satirical play based on the premise of what would happen if the French ruled the South Island, while the English ruled the North.
I managed to get to Le Sud today and had a great time. While there wasn't all that much of a plot (the play centers around a set of diplomatic talks between the French Sud Island and the English North, bought about due to the South suddenly doubling the price of power for the North Island overnight) the jokes were absolute gold. Not much has escaped playwright Dave Armstrong's fierce pen. He takes swipes at the All Blacks, every single political party, MMP, socialism, the Treaty of Waitangi, Maoridom, the French, nuclear-free New Zealand... even Wattie's tomato sauce doesn't get away.
Everything we hold dear as Kiwi's has the piss taken out of it, and it works - the audience was in stitches from beginning to end - even throughout the extended opening scene which is pretty much entirely in French.
So what did I really think? Well, I thought it was hilarious and a great way to spend an afternoon. The jokes were completely accessible to anyone with a mild interest in current events - but I think it was funnier for those of us who actually do follow the somewhat ridiculous world of national and local politics.
The cast were all brilliant but the stand out for me was George Henare as Tama Te Tonga, Le Sud's Minister of Native Affairs - who wheels and deals in a wide variety of ventures on the side. Henare's best moment, however, was during the powhiri as he kept extracting more and more money from the French government for his services, and the proceeding waiata - a rendition of Poi E (complete with the robot dance), soon scrapped for a round of Fara Jaka by the three French representatives - which had us all in stitches.
As per my last ATC production review for Oliver!, I was again blown away by the set. This time, rather than the revolving awesomeness of that set, we were presented with a beautiful French-inspired meeting room in which the play's talks take place. On walking into the theatre, the audience gazes at this beautiful set complete with Edith Piaf playing while we wait for the show to begin. Before the play even starts, the audience are feeling very French.
Finally, I need to mention the plays costumes, which come from a range of local designers including Adrienne Winkelmann and Working Style. The best one, however, is absolutely the beautiful Trelise Cooper piece worn by Miriama McDowell. I can't find a decent photo of it online, but if you watch the video below, containing footage from the show, you'll see what I mean.
The production, unfortunately, comes to a close tonight - but with over 9,800 people through the doors to see it, it has officially beaten ATC's previous award-winning hit, The Pohutukawa Tree, as their most popular production. Next up on ATC's dance card is The Importance of Being Earnest, which opens at the Maidment on 11 March, and promises to be a must see as director Colin McColl has promised a modernised version of Oscar Wilde's classic play incorporating influences from Lady Gaga to Sgt. Pepper-era Beatles.
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