Sequence of Events
Written by George Macewan Green
Directed by Sylvia Barnes

A hangman, a prostitute, a murdered and murderer's stricken parents are the ingredients in this taut Edwardian drama.  In a fascinating chopped time sequence they spin a strange web of sex and death.

Cast:
Mark Reid as Hangman
Jack Mould as Claude Vole
Douglas Shields as Herbert Vole
Sylvia Barnes as Margaret Vole
Genna Kate Ryan as Lily-Ann Turbett

Season: 5 - 8 June 2019

Overview:
Array ‘18 is Elmwood Players’ new-look season of short plays, interspersed with behind-the-scenes Q&A, and the added bonus of live music, all in a cabaret setting.
 
Abandon Hope
By Bronwyn Elsmore
Directed by Braydon Priest

An hilarious look at the lengths the women of the A-Bandon underwear factory will go to, on learning that their workplace, in the small town of Ruawhetu, is about to close. It’s amazing what creations you can come up with when you have to.
 

Hardstuff
By Jules Tasca
Directed by Phil Dean

A Thriller.  Matt and John, both pharmacists, are at a secluded cabin for a weekend of hunting, but John has other plans. He wants to find out if Matt is having an affair with his wife. With a gun in his hand and menace in his voice he gets Matt to tell all.


Kevin - The Other Reindeer
By Garry Thomas
Directed by Braydon Priest and Garry Thomas

Just imagine what would happen in a kids show if one of the characters had a potty mouth that would run away on them at any minute. An adult version of a scene not presented in this years’ Rapunzel.  Sholby and Oberon are two forest elves who have their picnic in the Enchanted Forest interrupted by Kevin, a reindeer.
 
You
By Mark Wilson
Directed by Garry Thomas

You tells of Kathleen, now in her mid-forties anxiously waiting for the arrival of the man whom she gave up for adoption thirty years before. Years spent insulating herself against the pain of separation and loss fall away ‘like bricks in a flood wall’ as she allows herself to recall the events of that time.  A drama.

Performances:

• Wednesday 5th June 2019 7:30pm.
• Thursday 6th June 2019 7:30pm.
• Friday 7th June 2019 7:30pm.
• Saturday 8th June 2019 7:30pm.

Prices:

• $20 Standard Admission.
• $75 The Full Array. Two tickets, priority table seating, cheese board, bottle of wine of your choice, table service.
  

Season: 8 - 11 August 2018

The Wonderful Miss Ward
By Andrea Quinlan
Directed by Andrea Quinlan and Phil Dean

Monologue: If you visit the Carnie Hill Goldfields historic park you may meet dancer Arabella Ward. Is she an actor in the living history theatre or is she someone who has a much deeper link to the area's history?

Cast: 
Kyra Loomans


Portraits
By Stuart McKenzie and Miranda Harcourt
Directed by Susan Cameron

Drama: Portraits tells of the rape and murder of a teenage girl in a small community. The play casts light on the family on both sides of the crime. This is the next play in the Verbatim series.

Cast: 
Darren Sundborn
Josiah Morgan
Libby Wilson
Sam McKinnon


The Fraud
By Neil Troost
Directed by Libby Wilson

Comedy: An antique dealer keen to own the find of his career at all cost, or preferably no cost. An elderly woman abandoned by her family and eager for company. A statuette that’s been in her family for years.

Cast:
Sally Wilcox
Lucas Walmisley

​
Deadly Closure
By Richard C Harris
Directed by Genna Kate Ryan and Garry Thomas
​
Thriller: On being accused of possession of a class A drug Tina is afraid that the news could exacerbate her father’s critical illness. So, when she is blackmailed she turns to a recent new friend for help. Together they hatch a scheme to get Tina off the hook and find closure. A closure that turns very deadly indeed.

Cast:
Marcella Herrera
Charlotte Dodd
Scott Morrow

Season: 10 - 12 August 2017

Top This
By Emilia Marriott
Directed by Emilia Marriott and Sam Primrose

Dramedy. A therapist tries a different approach by using acting techniques, to help her reluctant patients open up about their recent suicide attempts.

Cast:
Therapist - Adele Courtman
Peter/Andrew - Scott Morrow
Wallace/Neil - Cameron Marriott
Lizzie/Co-worker - Courtney Wright
Sandy/Friend - Libby Wilson


The Death of Ellen Moore
By Jon Amesbury
Directed by Jon Amesbury

A 'confrontative drama' examining the human response to death and the impact it has on the individual and those who are left behind. It is a gritty drama focusing on the emotions of grief, despair and the finality of death.

Cast:
Narrator - Sandy Wilson
Poppy - Libby Wilson
Richard - Darren Sundborn
Vicar - Scott Morrow
Nurse - Susan Cameron


The Real Problem
By Bruce Kane
Directed by Sonya Cameron

​In a comedy about love and men, Shakespeare's Juliet gets conflicting advice from the ever loyal and romantic Desdemona, Taming of the Shrew’s Katherine, who claims that “all men are pigs”; and, finally, the head of Henry VIII’s late wife Anne Boleyn, who believes women should be free to pursue their appetites… in spite of her present condition.

Cast:
Juliet - Andrea Quinlan
Desdemona - Susan Cameron
Katherine - Cameron Marriott
Hecate - Andi Darby
Anne - Courtney Wright

Season: 10th to 13th August 2016

The Dumb Waiter
By Harold Pinter
Directed by Sonya Cameron
Gus and Ben are on the job, waiting and listening. Into the waiting silence rattles the dumb waiter with extraordinary demands for dishes they cannot supply - and who is operating the dumb waiter in an empty house? In a while their victim will come and they will know what to do.

Cast:
Gus - Geoff Kendall
Ben - Sebastian Boyle


Cosmic Fruit Bowl
By Rosemary Frisino Toohey
Directed by Anna Willows

Think living in a fishbowl is tough? Try a fruit bowl. Talk about tension! There’s Orange, the self-centred star, Apple, the guy hiding a secret, and Banana, bruised by self-doubt. Is the focus on looks? Or what’s inside? Appeal? Or a peel?
The arrival of a strange fruit from down under only ups the ante. Is Kiwi truly a fruit or---horrors!---a bird? And will she be accepted, or will one of the regulars be rejected? There’s lots more than seeds and juice in this fruit bow

Cast:
Orange - Stella Cheersmith
Apple - Laura Hitchon
Banana - Scott Morrow
Kiwifruit - Whitney Greene


A Night Out
By Frank Vickery
Directed by Shani Annand-Baron

Seizing the opportunity, while her parents are out, Doreen decides to invite round Eric, her boyfriend. However, the evening is doomed to failure for all concerned: Doreen tries to calm Eric's passions while Mam and Dad overcome a ruined hair-do, the losing of all-important tickets and the car's flat battery only to find that they have the wrong night.

Cast:
Doreen - Shani Annand-Baron
Dad - Jon Amesbury
Mam - Sarah Coursey
Eric - Josh Penfold

Season: 12 - 15 August 2015

Carol & Nev
By Phil Ormsby
Directed by Steve Millar

It’s the great Kiwi road trip. Straight down the Island, across Cook Strait and on to the bach. Five toilet stops, lunch on the road, sleep on the Ferry and straight on ‘til morning. Carol and Nev are on the road, taking the family campervan to their daughter’s wedding at the bay. Only catch is Carol died in 1984.
​


Instinct
By April Phillips
Directed by Fiona Bennetts

Two ordinary, everyday women stand before a bound hostage in an abandoned warehouse. They are armed with a gun, a knife and a video camera. Barbara is overwhelmed by suspicion and doubt. She wants answers. Carol is bitter, calculated and steadfast. She wants justice, and perhaps revenge.


The Death Of Katie Myers
By David Mitchell
Directed by David Mitchell

A Young couple explore an empty theatre – or is it? What is Katie Myers secret?

Season: 5 - 9 August 2014
​
Child's Play
By T J Ramsey
Directed by Sarah Coursey

Room 13 is for seven to eight year olds. Harry is the coolest kid in class. He's Camilla's best friend until the new girl arrives. (Adults play the roles of children)

Season: 8 - 17 August 2013

Theatre NZ’s Short Play Season at Aranui Performing Arts Centre saw Elmwood Players come away with a number of awards for the two productions it entered and that will be staged within our "Shorts" season, don't miss them!

The New Quixote
(Best Comedy)
By
Directed by Sarah Coursey

Sunday morning: As Gina prepares to greet the new day after a one night stand she can only vaguely remember thru her alcohol induced haze, the much younger Kenneth is preparing to move in and commence a more permanent ‘arrangement’.

Cast:
Gina – Kat Bailey (Excellence in Acting, Female)
Kenneth – Sam Primrose (Excellence in Acting, Male)


One Season’s King
(Best Drama)
By George MacEwan Green
Directed by Doug Clarke QSM

Set at a graveside during a funeral, the three men in the lives of a charismatic woman retell their stories … It is a play of characterisation and its successful presentation depends on the male actors being able to convey the tension which exists between them. This tension springs not only from their rivalry for Eveline's favours but also from their sense of class.

Cast:
Charles - Steven Barker
Edward - Rod Turner
Sam - Barry Tomkinson
Eveline - Katharine Barker


hark*
By Gabe McDonnell
Directed by Alexandra le Cocq

Darius returns to the motel room that was the scene of his best friends suicide some years prior. He is visited by two time travelling angels – Micah and Rafe, the devilsh Murmur, and Azaria – the Pizza Girl – as he struggles to follow through on his plan for redemption.

Cast:
Darius – Andrew Clarke
Micah – Sam McKinnon
Rafe – Colin McKinney
Murmur – Anna Willows
Azaria – Alexandra le Cocq


Crew:
Production Manager - Garry Thomas
Stage Manager - Michelle Histen
Sound/Lighting - TBA

Season: 26 July - 4 August 2012

The Imaginary Friend
By Neil Troost
Directed by Alexandra Le Cocq

A comedy about the dysfunctional relationship between Karen and Roger.  Karen is struggling to cope with Roger’s increasingly erratic mental illness, while Roger’s imaginary friend Bob is reeking havoc with his attempts at a normal life.

Cast
Roger - David Searle
Karen - Donna Buchanan
Bob - Andrew Clarke


No Clues at Tudor Close
By Tim Barcode
Directed by Sam Fisher

Imagine waking up in an English country house after a murder has been committed with no memory of who you are, who they were or even of the house or people around you.

Not only that, but what if you became convinced it had happened before, and not just once, but many many many times and that you were part of a game. 

Colonel Mustard has exactly this experience one autumn day as he tries to piece together how he got to Tudor Close ….

It’s all a game of mystery with No Clues at Tudor Close.

Cast:
Col Mustard - Douglas Shield
Scarlett - Jamie Lee
Mrs White - Sophie Rea
Mrs Peacock - Vicky Hunwick
Plum - Saul Gibney
Rev Green - Roderick Turner


A Galway Girl
By Geraldine Aron
Directed by Susan Cameron

A couple sit at opposite ends of a table reminiscing about their life together. Each has a point of view and they rarely address each other directly. They are young to begin with, then middle aged, then old, then one dies.

The anecdotes they relate are both humorous and tragic. Their lives seem wasted, yet the wife's muted final gesture of affection conveys a love that endured through years of bickering.

This one act play has been a critical success in London, Ireland and South Africa. "A minute tapestry cross stitched with rich detail-- invested with a strong strain of uncomfortable truths" ~ Irish Times.

Cast:
Maisie - Elizabeth Woods
Dermot - Glen Clark

Season: 22 - 25 June 2011

Horst Buchholz and Other Stories
By Matthew Wilkie
Directed by Maria-Jane Scannell

George and his friends enjoy taking part in their local pub quiz. They always bicker and never win. However, this time, for George, the stakes have been raised ... defeat is not an option.

Cast:
George - Phillip Lee
Tim - Stephen Lefebvre
Jules - Emily Martin
Rich - Josh White
Quiz Master - Ruth Savage


Dead Man Talking
By Deborah Makarios
Directed by Colin McKinney and Aimee Borlase

Setting: a flat in Mayfair, New Years Eve, 1928. A quirky murder mystery by a New Zealand playwright, in which things may not be not as they seem...

Cast:
Oscar - Danny Broom
Denise - Rebecca Taylor
Liana - Jayde Braxton
James - Geoff Kendall


Cupboard Love
By Bev McConnell
Directed by Mark O’Connell
(In conjunction with Rangiora Players.)

Two women meet while out jogging along the Esplanade. They strike up a friendship as they discover they have lots in common; a love of food, a desire to lose weight and both have a new man in their lives.

Cast:
Jane - Anya Galbraith
Peggy - Elizabeth Fleming