A showstopper's never-give-in attitude prevails over a near-fatal illness. Sharu Delilkan talks to her during rehearsals.
If anyone had told Margaret Black 18 months ago she would be back singing and dancing professionally again she would have thought they'd lost the plot. But that's what she's doing this month. Now recovered from open heart surgery, she's appearing in The Showstoppers' and Friends Christmas Show.
"Although the operation was successful, I went into a coma soon after," she recalls. "The blood poisoning I had contracted through tests at North Shore Hospital had wrecked my body too much."
The 66-year-old from Sunnynook, an original member of The Showstoppers, says she could hardly walk or talk when she came to.
"I had to hang onto a walker and was dribbling. I looked worse than my mum at 98."
"We're in awe of her," says friend, fellow Showstopper and producer Jenny Lewis. "We really thought she was a goner, especially when her son told us to go to the hospital to say goodbye. Who knew 18 months later she'd be back singing and dancing, and making all our costumes?"
The Showstoppers, the self-proclaimed New Zealand version of Young @ Heart, are seasoned performers who've compiled a repertoire of entertainment for audiences of all ages.
The festive variety show will include guest appearances by friends of The Showstoppers with traditional and unconventional Christmas performances.
Black says the group has been together so long they're pretty much family. "They've been great, making allowances for me, having a chair on stage just in case I need to sit down. I've always been positive and I refuse to give up - not after all I've been through."
Phoenix Theatre presents The Showstoppers and Friends Christmas Show, The Rose Centre, School Rd, Belmont, Dec 7-11, 8pm. Tickets: ph 473 5158 or see: www.phoenixtheatre.co.nz
Happy to be on her feet
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