I Betty Ya Didn't Know This About Colonial New Zealand

In a word, this production was joyous. As we follow Betty, a cockney household servant falsely accused of the murder of her masters, along the journey of her transportation, we witness her journey all the way to Australia. She then hijacks a boat to plough on to New Zealand, and then back again, and then back again.

Historical accuracy wise, this play was a sham, but that took nothing away from the delightful play of the four actors onstage, as they changed character, and accent (although perhaps unintentionally), and indulged in sing-alongs, great physical work, and even shadow play, making the portrayal of stabbings, society drinks and sneaky make-out sessions all the more hilarious.

The piece, directed by Daniel Pengelly, starred William Duignan, Andrew Paterson, Phoebe Hurst and Jacquie Fee. This incredibly strong cast carried the play through, with delightful ad-libbing such as ‘It’s alright we’ve broken the fourth wall we can all get on with it now,’ and the questioning of the woman next to me with ‘You look comfortable, good on ya.’ With the air of a great improv show, there was delightful interaction between actors, as they deliberately tipped more than the required amount of water on each other to show sea spray, or cut eachothers solos short, all with hearty grins. Extensive corpsing from Hurst did little to break this magic either, but added to the joy of the actors interactions.

The beautiful set was versatile, clever, and smoothly transitioned from shadow screens into the court house, the prison, palace, and boat. The music, although largely borrowed from other great musicals, had original, charming lyrics, with such simple phrases as ‘Let’s be friends, til the very end’, ‘Whistle while you work,’ or my personal favourite, the very inspiring ‘Life could always be worse’. These songs, wonderfully delivered by strong, distinct voices, wove the narrative with high points of joy and camaraderie.

Overall, this was a great example of confident, powerful actors working with great gusto and a brilliant sense of excitement and fun, on a wonderful script. The clever set and endearing story were delightful, but the joy of the evening was wrapped up in the spirit of the show, which was utterly bloody lovely.