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Luke Robb, left, Kate Low and Benjamin Donaldson prepare for their theatre company’s production of The Cabinet of Karnovach, which begins at the Playhouse on Wednesday.
A group of thespians embarking on ownership of a new theatre company are about to stage their first production in the town where their love and interest in the arts began.
The Cabinet of Karnovach begins at the Playhouse on Wednesday, and is being shown by Ambiversal – an indie theatrical company, based in Timaru.
Made up of Kate Low, Benjamin Donaldson and Luke Robb, the trio have all travelled beyond South Canterbury to study performing arts before returning to Timaru.
Their production is two one-act plays, wrapped into one show, and the trio aims to captivate audiences with its strange tales.
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Low said the two plays were part of a bigger anthology they hoped to introduced to the town, and perhaps other parts of New Zealand.
The show came out of Donaldson’s desire to create a theatrical anthology play series inspired by strange tales television shows such as The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Low, left, Donaldson and Robb in preparation for the show at the Playhouse this week.
“We were incredibly fortunate to receive funding through the Local Creative Communities scheme,” Donaldson said.
The three were “super excited’’ about bringing the stories to the stage, and the past few days had been a “bit of a whirlwind’’, Low said.
The group not only wanted to produce a show that was unlike what Timaru audiences may have seen before, but also to engage and empower fellow artists to produce their own work, they said.
In addition to its commitment to inspiring and empowering fellow artists and recognising the importance of arts education, the production team has also designed talks to provide valuable insights into the world of theatre, offering students a chance to ignite their “passion for the performing arts’’, they said.
The first one-act play, Vanity’s Glass, is the story of a young man whose own vanity puts him in a situation that might require some self-reflection.
In the second one-act play, The Omnibus, a bus stop brings two people together who are worlds apart.
Low spends her time between New Zealand and New York, where she has completed her first year at the Atlantic Acting School’s full-time conservatory programme.
Meanwhile, Donaldson is an Auckland Unitec Performing and Screen Arts graduate, with experience in film and television, and Robb is an Otago University Bachelors of Arts Majoring in Theatre Studies graduate.
The show will run from July 5 to 8, and tickets can be purchased through iTicket.co.nz. The shows are scheduled for 7.30pm, with a 2pm matinee on Saturday.
