Marion Low is no stranger to the stage, but she can now add playwright to her credits.
The Cromwell woman is marking her playwriting debut with Fine Thyme Theatre’s next production, Murder by Committee.
‘‘It’s my first one and I’m excited and very honoured that Fine Thyme Theatre even decided to put it on. It’s such an amazing opportunity for me,’’ she said.
‘‘I’ve been writing my entire life and I’m like a crow — I like things that are a bit shiny so I have lots of half-written plays and TV dramas, and they never come to fruition.
‘‘Last year I decided [to change that] and I invited some friends to come to my reading so I had an actual deadline.’’
Set in the fictional South Island town Shadowtown, the play centred around small-town life and the need to have committees for everything.
As was often the way in a small town, one person was in charge of everything and in Shadowtown, that person was an old man who rubbed people the wrong way — until they decide to get rid of him.
The show was quintessentially New Zealand — despite Low’s South African roots — and people would be able to relate to the characters, though she was staying quiet if they were based on real people.
‘‘If they see themselves, well, it is open to interpretation.’’
To see her work come to life on the stage was a humbling experience, she said.
‘‘It’s quite thrilling. What I’m enjoying the most is how people interpret my characters and find layers that I didn’t even anticipate.
‘‘Everyone comes along with their interpretation and expression. They fill out the story and bring it to life and I love that.’’
Fine Thyme Theatre Company committee member Brigitte Tait said it was an obvious choice to have Low direct the show, although she was reluctant atfirst.
‘‘Marion didn’t want it to be the ‘Marion show’ but it just made sense because it’s her baby,’’ she said.
‘‘It would have been weird to have someone else directing.’’
Murder by Committee is on at Coronation Hall, Bannockburn, from August 25 to September 3. Tickets are available online at fttc.co.nz
