An Interview with Three Spoon Theatre
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth – but who are the meek? A lisping librarian who might have met Phil Collins? An internationally renowned religious celebrity? Or a 12-year-old gamer with a choreographic penchant for fantasy violence?
Fresh from the VUW Theatre Department directing course, Three Spoon Theatre marched away with three Fringe Festival awards this year, a highly commended award in marketing, Best of Theatre, and the real biggie – Best of the Fringe.
March of the Meeklings: An Apocalyptic Romp stemmed from an idea director, Ralph McCubbin Howell, has been pondering for a few years. Originally, he tells me, he had thought of doing an improv show, in the style of “an ‘epic disaster movie’, about meek people taking over the world,” but with friends from theatre courses at Victoria, he and producer Adrienne Roberts collaborated to devise a script which John Smythe from Theatreview called “Classic Fringe fare.”
If you didn’t manage to catch the show in the Fringe Festival, not to worry: March of the Meeklings has been offered a season at Downstage, in early May, alongside two other Fringe Festival productions.
If the pictures of flaming spoons around town caught your eye and you made it to the show, Three Spoon has more to offer, with a production set for 10-13 April, at the Lyall Bay Surf Club. This time it’ll be a scripted work, The Storm, by Peter Oswald. Starting with this modern rewrite of a Roman comedy, the team have updated and localised the references to keep you interested! And, I would argue, give you a more ‘authentic’ experience of watching a Roman comedy – with jokes that are just that much funnier, when we can sit back and say, “oh that’s so true…”
Over the next year, Three Spoon aims to bring you a collection of works, showcasing the different talents of their team. Alex Lodge will be directing The Storm and later on in the year we can expect something from Bridgid Costello. Sounds like we can look forward to a comprehensive range of works- Ralph’s theatrical background comes mainly from experience with improv, Brigid from dance, and Alex from collaborative theatre; as well as the strong musical talents of the group.
Find out more about Three Spoon Theatre by searching for their group on Facebook (keyword, Three Spoon Theatre). Or check out a Youtube teaser for
March of the Meeklings (keyword Meeklings).
Otherwise, just wait till you are approached around town with a small plastic spoon, bearing the Youtube details – a marketing commendation in a festival of over 100 shows suggests you can’t miss them!
What’s Hot?
First and foremost, I’m turning 21 this Easter. If anyone happens to see me walking around uni looking fried, please buy me an orange juice. Theatre-wise, things are slowing down a bit now that the Arts Festival is over. If you find you’re suffering from withdrawal, Bats has a few plays on to help you through the dry spell; Shoes and Bouncers are both on until March 29. And, of course, Circa is still running This Is Our Youth, which is alright…