Thinking about flatmates often conjures up images of young people with messy rooms, filthy bathrooms and couch fires. But what if those sharing were old enough to be their parents?
Alexandra playwright Karin Halliday said the play was inspired years ago by a television advertisement for a bank featuring a group of ageing flatmates forced to share because they had not yet got a home of their own.
‘‘It wouldn’t leave my head.’’
Ms Halliday shared a home until she was in her 30s when she decided she needed her own space. That space has changed again since then as nowadays she lives with her partner and 17-year-old daughter.
Director Lyn Gordon said she was enticed back into theatre over morning tea with Ms Halliday and Pat Lines, who had directed Ms Halliday’s children’s plays.
Mrs Gordon’s involvement in theatre began in Clyde when Mrs Lines took her to the Clyde drama club in the early 1980s. Her passion was ignited and she spent many decades involved in theatre.
After moving to Wa ¯naka with her late husband Bill she took a break until that fateful morning tea.
Ms Halliday said they needed people who were either over-50 or could act as if they were, three men and three women.
It was a great opportunity for people who had been in theatre in the past to come back, she said.
Mrs Gordon said she could teach acting skills so newcomers to the stage should also audition.
In addition to the six actors the production would need volunteers to do a myriad of tasks behind the scenes from make-up to set construction.
Auditions will be at Alexandra Primary school (above the office) at 2pm March 11 and 12.
