Adapted by Sue-Anne Post from book by Jeff Raglus
Arena Theatre. Napier
Street Theatre until October 5, 1996
Reviewed b y KH
around Oct 22, 1996
There's no denying
it. Kids' theatre can be great entertainment for adults too and Schnorky the
Wave Puncher at Arena Theatre is a good example. The laughs rippled up from
the shoreline of children seated on the mats and rose to a wave of hoots from
the adults in privileged place on chairs.
Of course the laughs generally came in different places. The
children, aged 4-10 years, giggled at the slapstick, acrobatics and
cartoon-like characters. The grown-ups howled at the wry portrayals of
conservative suburban values, the inverse mother-daughter relationship between
"Bert" (Maria Theodorakis) and her husky mum, Audrey (Katrina Stowe)
and mature love between single parent, Audrey and the crusty old sea captain
(Bruce Gladwin).
When she's not chasing a wave, Bert organises her mother's
life and health, governing her smoking habit and burgeoning sex life in a
manner reminiscent of Saffie and Edina in ˇAbsolutely Fabulous.
The protagonist of this story, adapted by Sue-Anne Post from
the popular book by Jeff Raglus, is Schnorky, the surfie boy (Katrina Stowe)
who has become a legend in his own esky. He lives on the beach with his dog
("He's my friend not my owner"), watching the surf, riding the waves,
testing the wind, fossicking, bartering and planting native trees, all to the
chagrin of the neighbourhood puritans, the Tweets (Gladwin & Noel
Jordan). He speaks to nobody and,
inevitably, Bert falls headlong in love with him.
Rosemary Myers has directed the piece in a roustabout,
physical style with much poppy music, oodles of tumbling and balancing, and a
kooky cast of broad caricatures, cartoon set design by Raglus and some clever,
cute costuming by Graham Long. The four
actors pour energy onto the stage, singing, cavorting and generally have a
great time.
Songs by Frank Wood support the whole lively populist form
as does the garbled, bastardised surf lingo. There are some rough moments where
the action needs clarification for both kids and adults but the show relies on
the abstract representation of objects, mime and quick costume changes. My
kiddie companions were particularly taken with Bruce Gladwin's Irish-Scottish-
Lancashire captain and his silly Mrs. Tweet.
KATE HERBERT
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