Mark Hadlow stars in a thoughtful and comedic one-man show, Grumpy Old Man in Lycra. He starts his tour in Whanganui on September 18.
Mark Hadlow stars in a thoughtful and comedic one-man show, Grumpy Old Man in Lycra. He starts his tour in Whanganui on September 18.
New Zealand actor Mark Hadlow is beginning his nationwide tour of Grumpy Old Man in Lycra in Whanganui.
The one-man show, featuring Hadlow and written and directed by Gregory Cooper, is a sequel to Middle-Aged Man in Lycra (or Mamil), which toured a decade ago.
The Whanganui Opera House willhost the first show of 14 across the country on September 18.
Hadlow said he couldn’t wait to kick off the tour in Whanganui, as the city had missed out on Mamil.
“I wanted to play in Whanganui, I haven’t played there for a long time. I want them to get what everyone else is going to get, and letting them be first is a really great tick in their box.
“It is nice to remind people, especially post-Covid, that you need to get out, you should get out, you need to see professional theatre live. It’s such a bonus.”
Grumpy Old Man in Lycra (or Gomil) follows the journey of Wayne, the founder and leader of the men’s cycling group in Mamil.
A lot has happened to Wayne over the last 10 years. He has retired, his son has moved to London with his grandchildren, and Maggie, his wife of 49 years, has died.
The only thing left to take his mind off the pain is cycling with his friends.
Mark Hadlow in 2020 performing Middle-Aged Man in Lycra.
Hadlow has already performed the show to full houses in Christchurch earlier this year.
He said one-man shows brought a range of different challenges to acting with co-stars.
“You are on your own, no one can help you out.
“You have to be on your toes, you can’t phone it in because you are the only one ... once it stops, it stops, there’s no one to pick up the slack.”
There had been a few occasions in the 350 one-man shows he had performed when he had to “eat humble pie” after making a mistake.
He recalled a “great occasion” when a person farted loudly at a Christchurch show.
