Stories of friendship and love
Queenstown Gardens will be taken over by Remarkables Theatre with stories of friendship, love and tales of the heart. From 13 February, the much-loved annual promenade show will celebrate love in all its forms - romantic, platonic, complicated, hilarious, and heartfelt.
This year’s show is directed by Jane Robertson and features a cast and crew of over 20 people. As you stroll around the gardens, you’ll encounter a series of short, playful skits, inspired by iconic stories and characters.
Stephanie Travis is taking on two roles in this year’s show, Miranda from Sex and the City and another character known simply as Woman, who is involved in a business-like proposal.
“All four characters from Sex and the City will be there and the scene is around love that’s found in friendship and how we support our female relationships,” Travis says.
As for her other scene, it features two work colleagues that find themselves single, thinking about whether getting together and married is going to be beneficial for each of them. The different skits show that love comes in many different shapes and sizes.
“I think the show definitely captures all forms of love, from the traditional sense to really deep, powerful friendships. I think we’ve seen that over the years with some incredible TV series that have depicted love in many different formats.”
This will be Simon Everett’s second year acting in the garden show and he says this year you’ll be reminded of the different examples of love. He’s taking on two very contrasting characters – Romeo in the classic balcony scene and Richard Burton. One embodies a youthful love while the other depicts a toxic relationship.
“Richard Burton is a film star who famously got through two or three bottles of vodka a day,” Everett says. “He divorced Elizabeth Taylor, I believe, and then they remarried, and they were always at each other’s throats, destroying hotel rooms and stuff. It’ll be interesting to mix it up from the teenager in love.”
Everett explains that he can relate more to the character of Romeo, “We’re both slightly naïve, young at heart and quite unlucky in love.”
Fleur Van de Loo shares a scene with Travis as Carrie in Sex and the City, as well as a part as Phoebe in Friends. She says that all the scenes in the show have a really positive and happy vibe, with colourful outfits and upbeat energy throughout. She’s been enjoying channeling some of that energy for her performance.
“I think they’re both really fun – fun-loving, lively characters,” Van de Loo says. “I think Phoebe is particularly hilarious and I really like her and the way she goes through life, super easy-going, doesn’t make too much of a fuss about things, helps people out and helps her friends out. She’s really positive in how she is about everything.”
The show offers a unique presentation style, but is a hit every year. It’s perfect for familes, theatre lovers and anyone who enjoys a good stroll with a side of story telling. It's equally as fun and lovely for the audience as it is for the actors.
“It’s a fun weekend for us because we have short scenes and we also get to enjoy watching everybody else soaking up the general vibe of what’s going on. We love performing for the local community and we’d love to see as many people as possible coming along and enjoying the show,” Van de Loo says.
Love is All Around show times are Friday, 13 February at 6pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 14 and 15 February at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm. Entry is by koha – you can find out more information and prepurchase tickets at remarkablestheatre.co.nz. You can also just turn up on the day.
