Hall is one of our most recognised playwrights for his focus on middle New Zealand. As a sign of straitened times, End of Summertime is a one-man, two-act show.
Grumpily wry Dickie Hart, beautifully played by Peter Hayden, is retired, loves a good yarn, misses his farming life and his dogs, doesn’t want the ladies to get their hopes up, but defers to Glenda, the wife, because it’s best not to say anything.
His new life in Auckland, for the sake of the grandkids, rekindles his childhood family holidays, but is now disconcerting. It takes navigating. So Dickie has to find ways to fill in the days. The vegan daughter-in-law is all right really and the grandkids know to keep their visits to burger outlets a secret. But come 2020 and life encroaches from a less than benign outside world to change everything. Dickie’s heart is broken and his memory fumbles.
The stage is an orderly, comfortable living-room with a lamp, two chairs and a side table. In the second act a wash basket and a dressing gown appear as Dickie’s life unravels and Glenda’s houseplants die. It is the census, that necessary act of keeping a record, which creates a reconciliation with changing circumstances. A trip to the beach offers a new outlook on what it is to live in Auckland in 2025.
The script is understated. There are a series of nicely paced jokes. There are grumpy assumptions and inspiring moments of revelation. Life is for learning how to adapt.
Credit is due to producer and director Karen Elliot and all the backstage crew, Peter King, Steven Kilroy, Matt Best, Jymi Best, Clare Adams and Jeannie Hayden.
