Pobby & Dingan

It's week 4 of rehearsals for our new show Pobby & Dingan. The show opens on Saturday 27th February at the Brunton Theatre, before going on tour across Scotland. Pobby & Dingan was written by Ben Rice, and has been adapted by playwright Rob Evans.

We're very pleased to have Rob with us in rehearsals; his energy is bursting out of the rehearsal room. He and the cast have created their very own P & D Glee club....

All things Australian

Pobby & Dingan is set in Lightning Ridge, a mining town in NSW, Australia. We've lots of Australian connections in this cast. We celebrated Australia Day with Damien Warren-Smith (who plays Rex, the dad), who comes from Oz. He brought Kevin the kangaroo into rehearsals so he would feel a bit more at home. The lovely Ros Sydney (Mum) recently married a Sydney man, Danny Krass, and our Education Facilitator Gini Merange is from Melbourne. Gini and Kenny, our Education Manager, are out on the road doing workshops in schools. Many children across Scotland will soon know the exact location of a small town called Lightning Ridge.

We've had a blast in New York

Our run of Hansel and Gretel has now come to an end and we have had a fantastic time. We would like to say a huge thank you to all at the New Victory for making us feel so welcome over the last five weeks. We have been left with many happy memories. Here are a few pictures of some of our fun times.....

the company after the last show

finger!

The Audience Speaks

Gill Robertson, Artistic Director, interviewed some of the audience members after the show and here are some of the fun responses........

it was awesome!

I was scared

don't you wish your bottom was fat like mine

and again....

scary witch faces

a family's favourite bits from the show

Awesome, just awesome

We have been delighted with the audience's response to Hansel & Gretel, 'awesome' is a favourite word, and here is a snapshot of what the press have said:

the show overflows with fresh, visually stiking ideas.... It feels mysterious, exciting and a little scary, like all the best stories
New York Post

wonderfully original show... impressive sets, costumes and sound designs
Time Out New York, 4 stars

sometimes spooky, sometimes kitschy, always beautifully performed
Theatremania



It's funny, smart, energetic and yes it is scary.... it assumes a refreshing level of intelligence in its young audience
nytheatre.com


Other news from Broadway...

star spotting: John Turturro brought his family to see the show at the weekend, we were star struck

new games: a certain Catherine Wheels company member has had RSI in her arm following a very heavy session of darts

new visitor: booked his ticket on wednesday night, with us in Hansel & Gretel's house watching the show on Friday evening. He has now joined us overseas while shows have been on in New Zealand, Dublin, London, New York (this is the third time), LA and Australia. Is he our biggest fan?

And finally important hellos: to Emma's father, to Simon Donaldson (we were delighted to see him while he was in NYC with Jason & the Argonouts), TJW and Cath's mum and dad

A witch prepares

We've had a well earned couple of days off and now we're back. Cath Whitefield has to put a lot of work into getting ready for the role of the stepmother/witch in Hansel and Gretel. She has to be a the theatre earlier than the other cast members - an hour and a half before the show starts. The first thing she has to do is get all her hair pinned up to go under the bald cap which is one of the key things that creates the horrific image of the witch.

The bald cap only lasts about three performances, so we have 15 caps to last for the whole run

Once Cath is in make-up, Lydia from wardrobe at the New Victory pins up her hair and helps her on with the bald cap

They make sure that it is in just the right position

And then the cap is glued down to make sure it stays on during the show

The John Byrne Corridor

We have been fantastically privileged for John Byrne to have generously painted one of the corridors backstage at the New Victory, which is part of the journey that the audience take during Hansel and Gretel. The corridor looks absolutely stunning and the photos below only give a small idea of what it's like. The audience like the work so much that we have to move them on to the next part of the journey as they want to spend too long admiring the artwork. Everyone at Catherine Wheels and the New Victory say a great big thank you to John.

Backstage at Hansel and Gretel

So, we had our first public performance last night and it went really well. We thought we'd post some backstage photos so you can see a bit of what been going on here at the New Victory on 42nd Street.

Ashley Smith as Gretel and Cath Whitefield as the Stepmother in the girls dressing room

Steve Kettley getting ready to be Dad, and Tommy Mullins (Hansel) in the boys dressing room

Craig Fleming, Emma McKie and Lindsey Knight in the production office

Beginners waiting to go on for a show

Karen Tennent putting some last touches to the set

The view from the forest into the Sweetie House

Joel having a well earned rest between shows