Bombshells to hit Waihi Theatre during art and street festival

Bombshells is a play by Australian writer Joanna Murray-Smith.

The Waihi Art and Street Festival is taking place this weekend, and the Waihi Drama Society are set to light up The Theatre with their production of Bombshells. You’re invited to witness the fallout.

The show is driven by six monologues exposing six women balancing their inner and outer lives with humour and often desperate cunning. They range in age from a feisty teenager to a 64-year-old widow yearning for the unexpected.

Seven actors from the Waihi Drama Society have answered the call of duty and are blowing the lid off the inner workings of women. The play’s Australian writer Joanna Murray-Smith has dared to write women with such honesty that they’re instantly relatable.

Murray-Smith’s plays have been performed around the globe, and include shows on Broadway and at the Royal National Theatre in London

She is best known for Honour which has been performed in more than three dozen countries.

Director Hollie Weir fell in love with the script as one of its performers in 2016.

“When I first read the monologues, I felt like someone had stolen my journal. It was so personal, so agonisingly funny, and so cathartic.“

Originally written as a one-woman show, Weir has divided the play between seven.

“There is so much talent in the Waihi area, it would have been a crime not to include as many people as possible! We’ve even managed to lure award-winning writer and director Aisne Edwards from Whangamatā to join us as succulent-obsessed cacti lovers!

“And that’s before fan-favourite Fi Gudsell will make you celebrate (and commiserate) her wedding,” Weir added.

“The always beautiful Nina Mayhara will have patrons completely baffled; while uber-talented Lucy James will dance the way no Catholic schoolgirl has ever danced before. Wickedly funny Ivy Coombe will leave you stunned with the unexpected, and the irrepressible Tracey Carter is breaking hearts and taking names with a hilarious cabaret comeback.”

As for the director herself? “A wild ride through a regular day of an exhausted stay-at-home mother. Not a far stretch!“ Weir said.

When asked if Bombshells is just a girl’s night out, Weir said: “Haha! No! If you have a mother, daughter, sister, aunty, heck - if you know even just one woman - I guarantee you will connect with this show. You might cringe. You might cry. You’ll laugh, and you’ll undoubtedly recognise the women speaking to you from the stage.”

Bombshells by Joanna Murray-Smith

Friday, January 26 to Saturday, February 3.

Venue: The Theatre, 21 Boyd Road, Waihi

Times: 7pm evenings and 4pm matinee

Cost: $25 adults, $12 school students

Ticket information via waihidrama.co.nz

Email: waihidramasociety@gmail.com

Please note, that Bombshells is R13. Language and adult themes may offend.

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