Ruth Agnew reviews O Little Town of Beckenham, written by Greg Cooper, directed by Dan Bain, at Little Andromeda, Thursday 5 December 2024.
Little Andromeda’s annual Christmas show has become something of a tradition for Ōtautahi audiences, and this year, Little A has gone one step further in spreading festive cheer by shifting Christmas to Christchurch. O Little Town of Beckenham is a Yuletide theatrical treat stuffed full of local references, pitched perfectly at those who prefer a Bunnings sausage to a mince pie, and a skinny dip at Woodend Beach to carols around a crackling log fire.
The Christchurch stars have aligned and crossed to make O Little Town of Beckenham an absolute Christmas cracker. With 2024 Playmarket Adam Award winner Dan Bain taking directorial duties, the city’s second most prolific playwright, Greg Cooper, has taken the writing reins. His script is packed with jokes more groan-inducing than the Dad’s Christmas cracker punchlines, much to the delight of the appreciative opening night audience. This is not high-brow humour; it is unashamedly as hammy as Christmas Day lunch.
In this reinvented nativity tale, the Virgin Mary is an independent Woodend woman whose sweet bumbling beau Joseph works in the carpentry aisle at Mitre 10. Joseph is motivated more by sausages than divine intervention, but that doesn’t stop him making the trek across town (with a little audience participation), helped along the way by the Christchurch Star and some Christchurch stars (Chris Lynch, Chris Luxon, Chris I mean Aaron I mean Phil Mauger…).
The success of the slapstick raucousness is down to the trio of actors playing Mary, Joseph, and every high profile Cantabrian you can think of. Reylene Rose Hilaga, James Kupa and Dan Allan are so well-known for their appearances at the Court Theatre, Asian Waves, Dungeons and Comedians and beyond, that their local fame rating almost warrants referencing in this play themselves. Allan reveals a side of himself I know I’d never previously seen (more pixels, please!), Hilaga gets an opportunity to show off her heavenly vocal skills, and Kupa is just so brilliant and likeable it’s easy to forget he actually comes from the North Island.
All the best aspects of Bain’s directorial style are on display in Beckenham. The quips are quick, the comedic points are sharpened, and the action moves at a pace faster than two men in a camel costume crossing State Highway One. In every Dan Bain directed show there is a moment of theatrical brilliance that costs next to nothing but creates maximum stage magic: in Boudica it was paint powder thrown in the air as blood, in Murder on the Orient Express it was a knife and a spotlight, in Odyssey it was three people playing a cast of thousands. In Beckenham, the low cost high drama theatrical trickery is an explosive moment involving metres of umbilical bunting and some immaculate timing.
There were parts of the script that seemed to have been written at another time, particularly the political satire puppetry show involving King Gerold and his two tame muppets. However, this also brought us an absolute highlight of the show: James Kupa’s three part solo song, “Tuppling”.
Once again, Little Andromeda has proven themselves to be the true Christchurch Star, and I suggest anyone who hasn’t yet scored a ticket to this festive feat of familiarly to book immediately, as only a few seats remain. This Christmas, give yourself the gifts of giggle and guffaws, and enjoy the real spirit of Christmas with O Little Town of Beckenham.
O Little Town of Beckenham plays until 21 December.
Flat City Field Notes 