Ted’s Bottle opened to a full house at Timaru’s Playhouse Theatre tonight. The play centres around the true story of LeTour Mollet D'Auvergne (Ted) and his journey from Waihao Forks, southwest of Waimate, to join the New Zealand forces in Egypt then Crete during the Second World War.

Written by Bryan Aitken, the play manages to create an authentic atmosphere, with the use of lighting and sound to add an immersive element. The level of research that has gone into the play is evident, with the well written dialogue adding some real polish. There were moments of comedy, love, comradeship and compassion.

The acting, led by Ken Wills playing Ted, was top notch for a local production.

Ted’s Bottle plays for eight nights (6th-9th Aug Timaru; 10th Aug Waimate; 12th–14 Aug Timaru) and it’s a play that I highly recommend seeing.

Related Links:

The Unfinished Drink
Local play lifts cork on Teds bottle
Teen gets a grip on Teds Bottle

The motion for the South Canterbury Young Professionals (SCYP) 'Debate Night' was "To be or not to be the seventh state of Australia, that is the question".

The affirmative team was made up of Tony Shaw (lawyer), Jo Goodhew (National Party MP for Rangitata) and Murray Cleverley (Chair of the South Canterbury District Health Board).

While the negative team comprised of Wynne Raymond (Former Mayor of Timaru), Ruth Dyson (Labour Party MP for Banks Peninsula) and Ken McKenzie (lawyer).

Chaired by Norm Scott (another lawyer), the scene was set for for an entertaining night.

Tony Shaw had the crowd on their feet early in the piece, but only to stand for (and sing) the Australian national anthem, and then again for the "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi" chant. Ruth Dyson had the audience in raptures with her pre-prepared humour (including a few low blows to the opposition). Murray 'Cowboy' Cleverly, the butt of most of the jokes on the night, took it in his stride and shot from the lip when he got his chance.

Norm Scott showed that he’s got a long way to go if he wants to be a judge, as he was not prepared to pick a winner at the end of the night, rather settling for a draw. Although to his defence he put it to the audience, looking for the team with the loudest cheer and both teams got pretty loud cheers.

All in all, it was a great night out at Timaru’s Mill Theatre. A big thanks needs to go out to the Kellie Walker, Anne-Marie McRae and the rest of the SCYP committee for organising the event. And I mustn’t forget Petite Wine and Dine, who staffed the bar.

The red carpet was brushed off and rolled out for a gala performance of  No Petrol No Diesel at Timaru's Theatre Royal. A well dressed crowd turned up early for a drink and nibbles. With the large turnout there was barely room to move - especially around the bar! More...

The Mill Theatre's mid-winter show is usually worthy of a night out with a few friends. A couple of drinks and hearty dinner at intermission add to the night, and help ensure everyone goes away with a smile on.

This years show had the extra element of being a murder-mystery on the Nile River. Since I'm planning a trip to Egypt in the new year, the urge to turn up to the opening night was irresistible. More...

Gareth Morgan turned up with a new book and his wife in tow, to talk about Climate Change. The sceptical might assert the night was going to be more of a drum-beating session with Morgan espousing the superiority of his Kiwi Saver retirement fund.

When I was given the opportunity to attend a showing of Stomp at the St James Theatre in Wellington, I was intrigued as to how people beating plastic containers and sweeping wooden brooms could keep a crowd captivated for five minutes, yet alone a whole show.

And for the first five minutes I was captivated. Each performer had a character that they played out in mime, using their beat, body language and the odd grunt to display their demeanour.

Unfortunately, what became apparent to me, well before the end of the show, is that there's only so many ways you can beat a drum, no matter how loud you beat it!

When I heard that Lady Gaga was the support act for the coming Pussy Cat Dolls tour, I jumped at the chance to get some tickets. Already with two hits singles, Just Dance and Poker Face, Gaga has shown that she can sing, dance and deliver it with a style of her own.

I think she only played four or five songs as the lead up act, but in doing so she had the whole crowd up on their feet. Crazy costumes, quirky movements and outrageous statements accompanied her superb vocals. After a ten minute piano solo of Poker Face, there were no doubters as to her star quality.

Then the Pussy Cat Dolls came on with dreadful audio mixing and ordinary dancing. Every chance they got that'd have a shout out to all the Kiwis and Maoris in the audience. They were so lame that we left half way through their performance.

The Timaru branch of Forest and Bird hosted Mike Joy, a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science at Massey University for a talk entitled ‘A wake up call on water’. Accompanied by an excellent PowerPoint presentation, Mike talked about research he has been carrying out, the state of the Manawatu River and the plight of the Long Fin Eel. More...

I was lucky enough to get tickets in the 3rd row of Kylie's second sell-out concert. It was a brilliant night of song and dance with Kylie performing a playlist based on her X album. Unfortunately the album hasn't really gained any airtime in New Zealand, so for most of the audience, the music was new to them.

The arena was set up with seating throughout, including the floor. Apart from pockets, the crowd largely remained seated throughout the night. There was a mix of ages in the crowd and it seems that the majority turned up to listen to the Kylie of old.

This meant that the singing and dancing extravaganza was poorly received by much of the crowd. It's a pity because it makes it likely that this will be Kylie's first and last tour to New Zealand.