Christchurch to Present World Premiere of ROPABLE

Christchurch audiences are about to be treated to the world premiere season of the new comic-thriller, Ropable at The Court Theatre. This brand new production has been written by The Court's Artistic Director, Ross Gumbley, who is also directing the show, and Allison Horsley.

Ropable throws us into the Hitchcock-themed B&B 'The Macguffin Hotel', run by the quirky Norma Bates, where Eden Forsyth has arrived to marry (or should that read murder?), the great Montgomery Parker. Her beloved Aunty Prudence is a welcome addition to the wedding party, but the unexpected arrival of her mother, the famous crime novelist C.W. Forsyth, throws a spanner into Eden's carefully laid out plot. With twists and turns that not even Eden saw coming, what follows is a story so twisted the Master of Suspense would be proud.

This production boasts a stellar cast; Eilish Moran, who was last seen on The Court's stage in 2014's End of the Rainbow where she tackled the challenging role of Judy Garland; Lara Macgregor, who last stunned audiences as Lady Macbeth in The Court's production of Macbeth; Chelsea McEwan-Millar, who juggled multiple roles in The Streaker and graces TV screens in TV3's Funny Girls; Kathleen Burns, who commanded The Court's stage in Educating Rita; and Cameron Rhodes, from feature film Housebound and TV series, The Brokenwood Mysteries.

Gumbley and Horsley were thrilled to be able to write a play with specific actors in mind and praises the calibre of phenomenal acting talent available at The Court, which allowed the two writers to create clear and refined characters that the cast would be able to fully embody.

The pair took on the challenge of writing this play after considering staging the 1929 PatRick Hamilton play, Rope, which is the basis for the well-known 1948 Hitchcock film of the same name.

"Originally I thought we were just going to put on Rope. We were just going to change all the references to contemporary references and change the genders so that we have two women as the leads. And then we started to work the idea that it could be a comedy," says Gumbley.

What started as a simple script 'tweaking' was a complete overhaul of the story which Gumbley describes as "so far away from the original that there is only one small similarity now between us and Rope."

Horsley, who was the dramaturg for Broadway's Jersey Boys, Dracula and Dr. Zhivago, and involved in the developmental work on Chaplin, wanted a script that gave women strong characters to work with.

"We wanted to create rich, juicy roles for women and celebrate the complex relationships we have with one another," says Horsley.

Gumbley has co-written comedic scripts before, however co-writing a crime-genre piece with another person provided an extra dynamic to his normal writing style. This added dimension "certainly challenged" his writing process, but he believes it was the best way to create the most engaging and gripping play for theatregoers.

"I've never written a piece of what is essentially crime fiction. I usually write with a specific start and end point, and how the story gets from A to B just happens along the way. With Ropable it wasn't like that. There's a lot of plot twists that had to be intricately plotted beforehand which did mean I had a much stronger idea of what absolutely had to happen in each scene before I wrote it."

In true Gumbley fashion, he's drawn to the comedic writing, so, naturally, that comedic edge seeps through every page of the script. Horsley, for one, is sure that audiences will appreciate Gumbley's comic edge as well as finding a piece of themselves on the stage.

"I hope audiences recognise something of themselves in these characters and that they enjoy the humour of these flawed, complicated people--who already have their own baggage--caught up in a Hitchcockian situation."

In turn, what has been produced is a black comedic thriller that audiences are sure to be thrilled and excited by.

Ropable debuts at The Court Theatre on 11 February and runs until 4 March. This is one show you don't want to miss!

#ropable #courttheatre

Additional Information:

Show contains coarse language, adult themes and nudity.

Cast:

· Eilish Moran: Constance Forsyth

· Lara Macgregor: Aunty Prudence

· Chelsea McEwan-Millar: Eden Forsyth

· Cameron Rhodes: Montgomery Parker / Nigel Forsyth

· Kathleen Burns: Norma Bates

Production Team:

· Ross Gumbley: Playwright

· Allison Horsley: Playwright

· Ross Gumbley: Director

· Harold Moot: Set Designer

· Giles Tanner: Lighting Designer

· Sean Hawkins: Sound Designer

· Stephen Robertson: Costume Designer

· Wendy Burton: Properties

Bookings: phone 03 963 0870 or visit www.courttheatre.org.nz
Ticket Prices (Early bird prices available):

· Senior 65yrs+: $46- $54

· Adult: $53-$61

· Under 25: $34-$42

· Child: $24-$32

· Community Service Card: $34-$42

· Group 20+: $46-$54

· Supporter: $44-$52

Show Times:

· Opening Night: Saturday 11 February, 7.30pm

· Post Show Forum: Monday 13 February, 6.30pm

· Matinée: Saturday 25 February, 2.00pm

· Monday & Thursday: 6.30pm

· Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday: 7.30pm

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