Suburban warfare takes an orderly approach

Michael Downey

Working as a hospital orderly, Michael Downey feared the performing arts career he'd studied for was slipping away.

"I loved being an orderly when I was on call but then I took a full-time job in a radiology department.

"Suddenly I was always dealing with hierarchy and the battles between those on various levels of that hierarchy.

"You get into a rhythm and start to get caught up in the little details of working life. You socialise with people from work; you talk about and think about work and time just goes ..."

So Downey quit his job, returned to university to complete a master's in drama studies and realised the job he had found so uninspiring was, in fact, an inspiration.

His work experiences and a colleague, namely an orderly called Peter Russell, form the basis for his first solo play, The Orderly.

It is about Peter who toils in a hospital by day and, like his namesake, spends his weekends as a soldier in a historical re-enactment group.

As his group's biggest battle approaches - the Battle of Maldon - Peter's thoughts wander from the hospital corridors to ancient battlegrounds.

"I met Peter on my first day and he told me all about the historical re-enactment groups he belonged to and, in great detail, all about the weapons they used. I have a very distinct memory of that."

Downey confesses that as a 14-year-old, he went to join a historical re-enactment group but when he arrived - accompanied by Dad and wearing a tunic sewn by Mum - he couldn't find his fellow re-enactors.

"I never followed it up," he says.

Peter died in 2003, but he was an enduring figure for Downey who by then had returned to full-time drama study.

As part of his course work, Downey created a piece based on a hospital orderly who is a weekend warrior in a Saxon re-enactment group.

Talking with class-mate Anders Falstie-Jensen, Downey confessed he thought the character had life beyond the classroom.

Falstie-Jensen offered to direct and The Orderly began to roll.

It has meant spending time with Peter Russell's re-enactment groups to learn the intricacies of sword and shield fighting.

Two groups, the Second Legion of Augusta and the Auckland Norsemen, staged a battle in Aotea Square on Saturday to promote The Orderly and pay homage once again to Peter Russell.

Downey doubts he will get into historical re-enactment the way Russell did. He and Falstie-Jensen have established a new theatre company and are planning their second production. And the name of their company: The Rebel Alliance.


Performance

* What: The Orderly
* Where and when: Herald Theatre Mar 22-24, 8pm, Mar 25, 4pm and 8pm