A scene from Foxton Little Theatre's production of On the Right Track. Frazer Lynn (left), Emily Pond, Navah Chapman, Waynne Napier and Derek Prior. Photo / Supplied
Review:
On the Right Track
Written by Tim Hambleton
Directed by Carl Terry
Foxton Little Theatre until April 23
Reviewed by Judith Lacy
"I'm going to Foxton tonight to go to the theatre."
If this sentence makes complete sense to you, there's no need to read on but please do anyway.
If your eyebrows are moving like an up and down curtain you must read on.
Foxton should be on your theatre-going list as the town's little theatre is a gem.
It's on to a winner with the premiere of New Zealand comedy On the Right Track. Set in the winter of 1981 somewhere in New Zealand, the Springboks are touring and the country is divided. Charles and Di have just got married, there's Zap in the fridge, pimples are called zits and DD Smash and the Mockers are dominating the airwaves. If that's all a bit bewildering, Google away and ponder that your parents' generation just had encyclopedias and almanacs.
The play tells the story of four railway workers whose nice little earner is about to be threatened.
Michael (Navah Chapman) doesn't know how to talk to girls and his father Dunc (Waynne Napier) isn't impressed with Michael's drinking habits. Not to mention his hobbies. "You can't talk to your mates in the pub about the cello," Dunc says. "I didn't go to the pub much when I was 9," Michael retorts.
Napier and Chapman are father and son in real life and this adds a dimension to their on stage relationship. Chapman won the Outstanding Youth Performance in a Male Role gong at this year's Regional Theatre Awards for his performance in Lent.
Sue (Emily Pond) holds her own in the male environment and Pond does a stellar job pretending to read Goodnight Mister Tom during the crew's extended smokos, plus she has great facial expressions.
Barry (Frazer Lynn) doesn't want to be the foreman and his nocturnal goings-on are affecting his job while the visiting ministry official S Pugh (Derek Prior) has his hands full finding out what the quartet have been up to.
All five actors came across as comfortable on stage, well-rehearsed and with a good understanding of their characters.
The audience was chuckling throughout as the cast delivered their lines in a way we could hear and get the joke.
Depending on your age, On the Right Track will bring back memories or be an accessible history lesson. Being 10 when the action is set, it was both for me.
Tim Hambleton has captured a slice of Kiwi life at a time families stopped talking to each other (sound familiar?) You are left wondering until the end who and what was going to save the railway workers' jobs.
Opening night was delayed a week as three of the cast got Omicron. Their relief at getting the play staged was palpable.
It's hard to think of an appropriate superlative for director Carl Terry without descending into hagiography but that man sure has stamina and he's cast well for the theatre's first 2022 production. All five actors are from Horowhenua.
The set, designed and constructed by Terry, was just right - solid, functional and took us back in time.
There were some unnecessary gaps between lines at the start and, yes, it was odd S Pugh (read that as one word) arrived at the hut via the toilet door but this polished performance is definitely worth the trip to Foxton either this long weekend or the next.
During the intermission free tea and coffee are served. This is in addition to the lemon water and mints already on the tables, complete with dollies for the glasses. Each table also had a model of a train station on it - a neat touch.
We've been starved of live entertainment for so long. As my companion commented, there's something holiday-like going to a theatre you haven't been to before, and you don't know any of the actors or anyone in the audience.
On the Right Track had full houses for the first two nights and it deserves this run to continue.
Andy Stewart pushed on with his motorbike trek despite his growing pain.