Cast of three brings 'The Owl and the Pussycat' alive

By NIGEL GEARING

Tim Bray relishes giving a classic children's story a makeover to keep it relevant.

The long-time children's theatre director and writer has adapted Edward Lear's quirky poem The Owl And the Pussycat, which he first staged at the Central Theatre, now home to the SiLo Theatre, in 1992.

"This time, the show's director, Amanda Rees, wanted more poppy tunes," Bray says. "Christine White has written new songs and lyrics."

Kneel Halt plays the owl, Abigail Greenwood the pussycat and Bray himself is the narrator, piggy-wiggy, parrot and turkey.

The three-stanza poem's makeover into an hour-long production also includes a scene where the owl goes to see a travel agent, played by a parrot.

But apart from that, this production has stayed true to the poem that has endured because of its timeless themes. "It's a mixture of romance, adventure and fantasy," Rees says. "There is also great scope for gorgeous costumes and sets."

Unitec Design School students submitted set and costume designs, which Halt made.

Bray left university with a Bachelor of Science degree and went straight into children's theatre, working with Auckland Youth Theatre founder Mary Amoore.

"I started by performing in schools and I have never stopped," he says. "Working with kids gives you so much energy - they are so giving. When you see those eyes so full of wide-eyed belief it's incredibly refreshing."

By the mid-90s Bray had built up quite a following, doing kids' shows around Auckland.

Then came the production A School of Clowns. "I chose that because of the name. However, the audience didn't like it and we lost them and consequently a lot of money."

Determined not to be beaten, Bray continued writing his own works. One, The Last Laugh, was a black comedy based on funerals.

"We opened on the night New Zealand learned of the news of September 11, 2001. No one came. The world was glued to the TV waiting for the world to end."

Bray again lost a lot of money, but worse, his confidence nosedived.

"I knew it wasn't my fault, but I still got a hell of a fright. So I enlisted my brother as a marketing consultant. He confronted me with the question, was I actually building an audience while I performed fringe pieces? The answer was to form my own production company where I could do both adult and children's works."

Tim Bray Productions has four shows scheduled for this year, three of them children's, The Owl And The Pussycat, Mahy Magic and a Santa Claus show. The fourth, Foibles, takes a humorous dig at human frailties.

"We have tended to get a very big influx of children's theatre from Wellington, which is good, but this marks the return of professional children's theatre in Auckland. I hope to make a series of shows like this an annual event in Auckland."

Performance

* What: The Owl And the Pussycat

* Where and when: The PumpHouse, Manurere Ave, Takapuna; July 5-10 (July 6, 7 and 10, 11am & 2pm; July 8 and 9, 11am & 6pm)