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The Cast in Rehearsal
Sienna and Megan - Fox Cub and Mrs Fox
Megan Jaquiery and her daughter Sienna are enjoying rehearsing their parts in our New Year production ‘ Fantastic Mr Fox’ “ I was told to come to the auditions and bring my two children, so I did,” Megan said. “ I didn’t intend auditioning but Sienna was a bit nervous so I got up on the stage with her. I got the part of Mrs Fox and Sienna is one of the Fox children. It’s nice doing this fun thing together,” Megan added.
Megan’s son Ethan also won a part in Fantastic Mr Fox but decided his commitment to ‘ The Phantom of the Opera’ precluded involvement with another production. “ He’s got quite a good singing voice”, his mother told me.
Sienna is also a talented young singer who made a really favourable impression on the audition panel. Sienna who also enjoys art and cooking loves animals. She found it hard to choose a favourite pet when I asked but she finally decided it was Caesar , her three legged cat.
This is quite a departure from the norm for Megan whose last appearance onstage at Rep was in 1989 in ‘Oh What A Lovely War’. Since then she’s become a busy mother, a lawyer and farmer. “ It’s important to spend time together “, Megan said as she put her arm arm around her daughter,” so I decided to make time”.
They both agreed that the rehearsals are fun...” and everyone’s really nice”, Sienna added.
Megan’s son Ethan also won a part in Fantastic Mr Fox but decided his commitment to ‘ The Phantom of the Opera’ precluded involvement with another production. “ He’s got quite a good singing voice”, his mother told me.
Sienna is also a talented young singer who made a really favourable impression on the audition panel. Sienna who also enjoys art and cooking loves animals. She found it hard to choose a favourite pet when I asked but she finally decided it was Caesar , her three legged cat.
This is quite a departure from the norm for Megan whose last appearance onstage at Rep was in 1989 in ‘Oh What A Lovely War’. Since then she’s become a busy mother, a lawyer and farmer. “ It’s important to spend time together “, Megan said as she put her arm arm around her daughter,” so I decided to make time”.
They both agreed that the rehearsals are fun...” and everyone’s really nice”, Sienna added.
Mark and Elizabeth - Mr Badger and Little Fox Cub
Mr Badger and Little Fox Cub
“When I saw it in the paper I thought I’d love to go and see it ‘cos I really like Roald Dahl stories, then I thought I’d like to come and audition and be a part of it. I made Dad come with me to the auditions and he got a part too.,” nine year old Elizabeth Morton told me. Elizabeth plays the part of one of the Fox cubs.
‘Dad’, a.k.a. Mark Morton chuckled. “Yes, I brought Elizabeth along and got up on stage to support her. I didn’t think I’d get a part. I thought I might get a job shifting scenery or props, something like that but instead I got the part of Mr Badger. Mr Badger is the narrator so is onstage for most of the play.
When he’s not onstage Mark works in real estate.He lives on a small farm but insists that he’s not a farmer. “ Mum and I are the farmers “, Elizabeth chimed in. When I asked what livestock they had Elizabeth listed a range of farm animals but her favourites are her chestnut Appaloosa pony named Sam who is twenty three years old and her new bigger pony, Star. Sam’s obviously very special. Mark showed me photos of him wearing all his winner’s ribbons. “He’s a winner “, he said.
“It’s great spending this time together with Elizabeth. It’s quality time and we’re really enjoying it. It’s great fun- we laugh a lot.” Would they come back next year to tread the boards at Rep? “ Absolutely!” Mark laughed.
“When I saw it in the paper I thought I’d love to go and see it ‘cos I really like Roald Dahl stories, then I thought I’d like to come and audition and be a part of it. I made Dad come with me to the auditions and he got a part too.,” nine year old Elizabeth Morton told me. Elizabeth plays the part of one of the Fox cubs.
‘Dad’, a.k.a. Mark Morton chuckled. “Yes, I brought Elizabeth along and got up on stage to support her. I didn’t think I’d get a part. I thought I might get a job shifting scenery or props, something like that but instead I got the part of Mr Badger. Mr Badger is the narrator so is onstage for most of the play.
When he’s not onstage Mark works in real estate.He lives on a small farm but insists that he’s not a farmer. “ Mum and I are the farmers “, Elizabeth chimed in. When I asked what livestock they had Elizabeth listed a range of farm animals but her favourites are her chestnut Appaloosa pony named Sam who is twenty three years old and her new bigger pony, Star. Sam’s obviously very special. Mark showed me photos of him wearing all his winner’s ribbons. “He’s a winner “, he said.
“It’s great spending this time together with Elizabeth. It’s quality time and we’re really enjoying it. It’s great fun- we laugh a lot.” Would they come back next year to tread the boards at Rep? “ Absolutely!” Mark laughed.
Kerry Girdwood and Cast Members
Director Kerry Girdwood and Fantastic Mr Fox cast members Ryder Edmonds, Elizabeth Morton, Emily Robertson and Elise McDouall.
There’s been a change of cast for Fantastic Mr Fox as Murray Milne has had to withdraw from the lead as Mr Fox for health reasons.
Luckily for Rep Theatre, Russell Penton has agreed to play the part.
Unfortunately, Phil Portland has also had to withdraw as our director but Kerry Girdwood has agreed to step into his place to ensure this fun children’s production goes ahead.
“The cast have put in so much work into rehearsing and learning lines it would be a real shame to abandon Mr Fox at this stage. Their energy and enthusiasm is heartwarming,” Kerry said. “I want it to have a lot of the elements of panto, you know, lots of audience participation, calling out ‘He’s behind you! Watch out!’ That kind of thing. There are a lot of delightful song and dance numbers too.”
It sounds like it’s going to be huge fun for children over the holidays.
There’s been a change of cast for Fantastic Mr Fox as Murray Milne has had to withdraw from the lead as Mr Fox for health reasons.
Luckily for Rep Theatre, Russell Penton has agreed to play the part.
Unfortunately, Phil Portland has also had to withdraw as our director but Kerry Girdwood has agreed to step into his place to ensure this fun children’s production goes ahead.
“The cast have put in so much work into rehearsing and learning lines it would be a real shame to abandon Mr Fox at this stage. Their energy and enthusiasm is heartwarming,” Kerry said. “I want it to have a lot of the elements of panto, you know, lots of audience participation, calling out ‘He’s behind you! Watch out!’ That kind of thing. There are a lot of delightful song and dance numbers too.”
It sounds like it’s going to be huge fun for children over the holidays.
Elijah Anscombe, William Herd and Kieran Spence
Rep Theatre’s Rat Pack
Forget about Frank Sinatra and his pals- Repertory Theatre has its own Rat Pack and I’m sure they’re much nicer than that Hollywood gang.
William Herd, Kieran Spence and Elijah Anscombe are the three rats who’ll challenge our Fantastic Mr Fox when he confronts them with their cache in the cider cellar. They’re a formidable trio.
Two of these young men will be familiar to Whanganui theatre goers as they’ve appeared in many productions in the past. Last year William played the part of Mr Darling in Rep’s pantomime, ‘Peter Pan’ but he’s also entertained as ‘Dullboot’ in ‘Badjelly the Witch ‘, and as Peter in ‘The Lion ,the Witch and the Wardrobe ‘. This busy lad has also been cast in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor ‘but both of these productions have been postponed due to the Covid 19 restrictions.
Kieran Spence is the fourth generation of his family to be involved in local theatre. His great grandfather was a theatre pianist , his grandmother Shirley London entertained in musicals with her lovely singing and his mother Debbie also entertained as a comedienne and dancer. Kieran has inherited the family theatrical talent for acting ,singing and dancing. Like William, he’s also been cast in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ which is having a break at the moment.
Elijah Anscombe has worked backstage at Rep in earlier productions.” Oh yes I was the crocodile in ‘Peter Pan ‘ last year “, he recalled. He’s been involved in productions at Whanganui High School where he and William are both students and agreed that he’s really enjoying playing the part of a rat. Chief Rat William and Second Rat Kieran joined Elijah Rat in agreeing that it’s jolly good fun being a Rat.
Do come and see them on stage at Repertory Theatre 20-24 January 2022. You’ll enjoy yourself too!
Forget about Frank Sinatra and his pals- Repertory Theatre has its own Rat Pack and I’m sure they’re much nicer than that Hollywood gang.
William Herd, Kieran Spence and Elijah Anscombe are the three rats who’ll challenge our Fantastic Mr Fox when he confronts them with their cache in the cider cellar. They’re a formidable trio.
Two of these young men will be familiar to Whanganui theatre goers as they’ve appeared in many productions in the past. Last year William played the part of Mr Darling in Rep’s pantomime, ‘Peter Pan’ but he’s also entertained as ‘Dullboot’ in ‘Badjelly the Witch ‘, and as Peter in ‘The Lion ,the Witch and the Wardrobe ‘. This busy lad has also been cast in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor ‘but both of these productions have been postponed due to the Covid 19 restrictions.
Kieran Spence is the fourth generation of his family to be involved in local theatre. His great grandfather was a theatre pianist , his grandmother Shirley London entertained in musicals with her lovely singing and his mother Debbie also entertained as a comedienne and dancer. Kieran has inherited the family theatrical talent for acting ,singing and dancing. Like William, he’s also been cast in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ which is having a break at the moment.
Elijah Anscombe has worked backstage at Rep in earlier productions.” Oh yes I was the crocodile in ‘Peter Pan ‘ last year “, he recalled. He’s been involved in productions at Whanganui High School where he and William are both students and agreed that he’s really enjoying playing the part of a rat. Chief Rat William and Second Rat Kieran joined Elijah Rat in agreeing that it’s jolly good fun being a Rat.
Do come and see them on stage at Repertory Theatre 20-24 January 2022. You’ll enjoy yourself too!
Fierce Farmers: Sierra Tanner, Mitch Taylor, Hannah Smith
“Bobbi’s, Bunce, and Bean
One fat, one short, one lean
These horrible crooks
So different in looks
Are nonetheless equally mean”
So chant the animals who become the farmers ‘ victims when they lay siege to the hillside in an attempt to starve out Mr Fox and his family. All of the animals are starving.
Who are these mean fellows?
Farmer Bobbis is played by Sierra Tanner, a newcomer to Repertory Theatre. She’s enjoying the new experience and has a lot of ideas about plays.
Farmer Bunce is played by Mitch Taylor who’s had several roles in Rep Theatre productions. “ I was in ‘Shenanigan’s Wake ‘ last year. It was a cameo role which is always good fun”, he told me.
Hannah Smith, tall and slim, plays the part of Farmer Bean. Hannah appeared in our 2020 production of ‘ ‘Peter Pan’, playing the part of Mrs Darling and this time last year she was one of our models in our Vintage Weekend Bridal Show. She’s been involved in lots of school musicals. “Last year my school ( Whanganui Girls’ College) won the Taranaki Regional final for Showquest”, she proudly told me.
Come and see these fierce chaps and find out if Mr Fox manages to outfox them all. ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ will be onstage at Repertory Theatre from Thursday 20th January to Monday 24th January.
See you there.
One fat, one short, one lean
These horrible crooks
So different in looks
Are nonetheless equally mean”
So chant the animals who become the farmers ‘ victims when they lay siege to the hillside in an attempt to starve out Mr Fox and his family. All of the animals are starving.
Who are these mean fellows?
Farmer Bobbis is played by Sierra Tanner, a newcomer to Repertory Theatre. She’s enjoying the new experience and has a lot of ideas about plays.
Farmer Bunce is played by Mitch Taylor who’s had several roles in Rep Theatre productions. “ I was in ‘Shenanigan’s Wake ‘ last year. It was a cameo role which is always good fun”, he told me.
Hannah Smith, tall and slim, plays the part of Farmer Bean. Hannah appeared in our 2020 production of ‘ ‘Peter Pan’, playing the part of Mrs Darling and this time last year she was one of our models in our Vintage Weekend Bridal Show. She’s been involved in lots of school musicals. “Last year my school ( Whanganui Girls’ College) won the Taranaki Regional final for Showquest”, she proudly told me.
Come and see these fierce chaps and find out if Mr Fox manages to outfox them all. ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ will be onstage at Repertory Theatre from Thursday 20th January to Monday 24th January.
See you there.