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We did it! Staged a very entertaining reunion, with nearly 800 participants, from New York, Brisbane, Rarotonga and throughout New Zealand.
The Spectrum documentary of the show, "Thirty years on, growing older and older", can be purchased from Replay Radio, Box 2092, Wellington. Souvenir programmes are $3.00 (incl p&p) from the Alumni Relations Centre, VUW.
A Cast full of big names is out to revive the golden age of the student revue at Victoria University on Saturday.
Roger Hall, Cathy Downes, Keith Aberdein, Libby Holloway, Dave Smith and Steve Whitehouse are among a large group of former Victoria students putting on O Extravaganza! at the Memorial Theatre in the Student Union.
Whitehouse is returning from his position with United Nations in New York and Aberdein is flying in from Melbourne for the show, being mounted by the recently launched Victoria University Alumni Association.
The irreverent and bawdy student revues used to be a major feature of student life, and many who appeared in them went on to rewarding careers in entertainment.
But it is now 30 years since the last performance of a Victoria "Extrav" and the old students felt it was time the tradition was revived.
And what a unique and mind-blowing spectacle it will be when Victoria University's legendary Extrav members of many past decades gather in Wellington in July to perform three "student revues" at the Memorial Theatre. The occasion is the 30th anniversary of the last revue performed in the State Opera House. The Auckland mob will travel down by Silver Fern on July 16, seriously rehearsing, among other acts, an all-male ballet. Those involved in that are tipped to include film maker George Andrews, Under Silkwood bookshop proprietor Murray Gray, America's Cup PR guru Peter Debrecony and possibly Sir Michael Fay and Max Cryor. Other ex-Extrav members who may be secretly practising their pas de deux, pirouettes and vocal show stoppers are thought to include John Ferayhough, Liddy Holloway, Barbara Ewing, Hugh Rennie, Paul Holmes, Roger Hall, John Tannahill, Bobbie Gibbons, Deirdra Tarrant, Judge Barry Travers, & Jack
The great Extrav Reunion Weekend & Capping Revue Revival ...
O Extravaganza! is the title of the Extrav revival on July 17, and Roger Hall has joined the notable list of writers and performers taking part.
Playwright Roger Hall (Glide Time, Middle Age Spread, etc) was keenly involved with Extrav during his time at Vic in the 60s, and has jumped at the chance to join in the revival. He is writing original material and will also appear on stage.
This descendant of the old capping revues is in three sections. The Dark Ages, under the direction of Bill Sheat, will recycle some of the treasures from Extrav's glorious past. The Middle Ages will revive some characters from Extrav history in new material, under the guidance of George Andrews. The New Age is nearly all new; but Deirdre Tarrant plans to revisit some dance classics.
Roger Hall was already well known as both a writer and performer in Wellington in the 60s, when he received a last-minute request to produce an Extrav — the original plans had fallen through.
The result was One in Five. "Because of the short notice it had to be a show with a small cast, just five members," he said. "I wrote most of it and performed it with John Clarke, Dave Smith, Cathy Downes and Steve Whitehouse. "It turned out to be very successful, and ran for three seasons."
Asked whether it was true that Extravs tended to be in dubious taste, Hall said: "That was one of its points."
"This was before TV, and these were the only outlets for satirical stuff, where we could be rude and use the odd swear word. Now there's no point in doing that sort of thing, because people can see it any time on TV and in films."
Roger Hall is planning to write two sketches, and perform in them. His stage appearance is a rare event these days.
See Page 6.
On Monday May 31, the Hunter building was open for business again, after nearly 15 years as an empty earthquake risk.
Extensive rebuilding to strengthen the handsome building has been completed, and most of the University administration has moved in.
Entry is through the main steps on the eastern (city) side of the building, and an information desk will be found immediately inside the door.
The Alumni Relations Centre is on Level Three.
After the Robert Stout Building has been renovated a glass atrium will be built to link Stout and Hunter at three levels, and another entrance will be provided from the Kelburn Parade side of the complex.
On Thursday, 20 May, we welcomed into existence the Graduate School of Business & Government Management Chapter of the Victoria University of Wellington Alumni Association. When we launched the association last September, we expressed the hope that it would evolve to meet the needs of its members in the widest sense, as well as the specific interests of particular faculty-based groups. We now have nearly 1,600 financial members, with 3,352 complimentary members (new graduates). There is interest in establishing branches outside Wellington, as well as in the countries from which we've drawn many of our students in past years.
The Association has supported the University in holding functions in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, and there is widespread and warm interest in these countries in establishing links with the Association. And London alumni have expressed interest in hosting functions there.
We welcomed our
All this really illustrates what an Alumni Association is for:
A strong and vital Alumni Association can contribute significantly to debate on these issues in support of the University.
On a less serious note – you will find in this issue information about a range of activities taking place at the University to which all members are cordially invited. The list is by no means exhaustive and illustrates some of what is available. The highlight of the Alumni Association supported events will undoubtedly be the Extrav reunion in July.
Make a diary note now!
We look forward to seeing you on campus.
The Annual General Meeting of the Alumni Association will take place on Thursday, June 24, at 5.30pm in the Functions Room, VUW Staff Club, in the Rankine Brown building.
Guest speaker: Justine Munro,
The Agenda will include proposed changes to the constitution to facilitate the establishment of Chapters and Branches of the Association.
Rumour has several famous names making cameo appearances in O Extravaganza! Sir Geoffrey Palmer is expected to blow his trumpet. John Clarke may return. Roger Hall said the chance to get on the boards again was one reason why he was keen to take part. The other main reason was the opportunity to meet up with his colleagues from the good old days.
Looking through old programmes for Extrav reveals a remarkable number of names now well known. John Fernyhough was sales manager and a member of the male ballet in The Paye Off; Barbara Ewing did sound effects.
For Extravaganza 67 the producer was Bill Sheat, writers were Roger Hall and Steve Whitehouse, choreography was by Deirdre Tarrant and the programme was the work of Hugh Rennie.
The student magazine Spike in Original Thinking. (This is not only effective but free)".
Also appearing in the programme credits are names like Keith Holyoake and Anita Ekberg, but there are doubts as to their authenticity.
One cast list for the male ballet gave a few names and added: "The other members of the ballet are worried about their reputations and desire to remain anonymous."
George Andrews and fellow veteran Murray Gray are organising an all day "Nostalgia train trip" to Wellington on Friday July 16 for Auckland Extrav survivors. They plan to use the time creatively to rehearse their Extrav contributions – including the revival of some durable characters.
O Extravaganza! is likely to include "Rollo the Ravaging Roman" and, of course, a male ballet.
Bill Sheat is preparing photocopies of some Extrav scripts and programmes — classics such as: Hollandaze, The PAYEoff, Vat ' 59 and
The reunion kicks off at 6.30pm on Friday July 16 with a conversazione in the Waterloo Room of the St George Hotel in Willis St. Registration takes place there and again on Saturday from 2pm at the Memorial Theatre on campus.
Saturday will be devoted to rehearsals, catching up with old friends, and campus tours. The atrium in the award-winning Union extension will be a focal point, with displays of nostalgia set up and refreshments ready to flow. Two "devastating performances" of O Extravaganza! are scheduled for 4.30pm and 8.30pm, with audience participation encouraged. Afternoon tea will be served from 2.45pm, and a buffet tea at 6.30pm. Tickets will be available at the State Opera House, or from the Alumni Relations Centre.
Jane Campion scored several firsts when her film The Piano shared the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival.
It was the first Australasian film to take the top prize at the world's premier film festival, the first directed by a woman, and the first shot in New Zealand. It was also the first winner directed by a Vic graduate; Jane Campion graduated from Victoria with a BA in anthropology.
Lecturer Phil Mann remembers her well from her time in ENG221: Drama in
Around her time at Vic, Jane Campion had a small part in Pacific Films' Energy, and played the poetess in Michael Wilson's production of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author.
New Zealand Film
The Piano is being claimed by Australia and France, as it was produced by an Australian company with French finance. However Campion, who lives in Sydney, and star Sam Neill (another Vic graduate) insist that it is a New Zealand film.
The Piano also stars Americans Holly Hunter, who won the best actress award at Cannes, and Harvey Keitel; most of the rest of the cast are New Zealanders, including many Maori.
Jane Campion should be familiar with Cannes by now. In Peel won the Golden Palm for short films; her shorts Passionless Moment and Girl's Own Story, the TV movie Two Priends, and her feature film Sweetie have also been shown there.
Campion wrote the original screenplay for The Piano, and says she saw it as a sort of transposed Wuthering Heights. "I'm interested in outsiders and non-communicators," she said.
Shot in Taranaki, the film tells the story of a mute Scottish woman (Holly Hunter) who comes to New Zealand for an arranged marriage with a land speculator (Sam Neill). The piano is her means of communication with the outside world. Russell Campbell of Vic's Theatre and Film Department said the success of The Piano made it clear that the quality of New Zealand's crews and actors was as high as anywhere in the world. "That was known already, but the award reinforces it," he said.
Of Jane Campion's earlier work, Dr Campbell was particularly struck by An Angel at My Table, the television/film version of Janet Frame's autobiography. "It's an astounding transformation of a strong literary text into an equally powerful visual and dramatic text."
Victoria University is heading off two other contenders to be the new tenant of Wellington's old Government Building. The Government is negotiating with Victoria University on the price for the long-term lease of the
The University plans to move its law school and law library to the Lambton Quay site, opposite the railway station and facing the Beehive.
"It's ideal for the law school because senior students will be close to the courts and Parliament" Conservation Minister Denis Marshall said.
The Government was concerned to restore, protect and occupy the building.
"It's a very, very important building with international significance," he said.
The University plan maintains the exterior while putting the inside to a suitable use.
On Song: Extravaganzers Bill Wollerman, pianist, Bill Sheat, Deirdre Tarrant and Bobbi Gibbons warm up their vocal cords in preparation for a Victoria University Extravaganza reunion concert to be staged on July 17.
The four songsters were among about 20 former students who showed up at Tarrant's dance studio in Wellington for the concert's first performance last night.
University alumni relations manager Sharon Major said the extravaganzas were the forerunners to the capping revues of today, though the people involved were adamant they had been wittier and more popular than those of today.
However, a glance through some of the programmes from the
The show is being written by playwright Roger Hall.
(To be read to the tune of Lesley Gore's Extravaganza student revues will gather to relive the best years of their lives, and to revive some of the worst songs and skits ever seen on stage.
The once-famous, politically edged Extrav shows are, by now, a distant memory from the pre-television age, but the names of many of the current generation in power can be found on the dusty programmes: Barbara Ewing, John Fernyhough, Liddy Holloway, Keith Aberdein, Roger Hall, Paul Holmes ... even one Michael Fay is mentioned by old timers as having played some peripheral role in proceedings. As television producer and former Extrav star George Andrews says, "The huge irony is that we have become the people we lampooned."
Andrews and fellow veteran Murray Gray are organising an all-day train trip to Wellington on Friday, July 16, for Auckland Extrav survivors (one whole carriage of the Silver Fern is booked) during which the old songs and skits – including an all-male ballet – will be rehearsed. The reunion itself takes place in and around Victoria University's student union Memorial Theatre on the Saturday, with three shows scheduled for 6.00, 8.00 and 10.00pm, punctuating a running party. Each show consists of three strands – "The Dark Ages" from the 50s Extrav, "The Middle Ages" ("We wanted to call it 'The Golden Ages'," says Andrews) from 60 to 65, and "The New Ages" from the late 60s on.
Anyone cracked enough to want more information should contact organiser Sharon Major at Victoria University on 04 495 5246, or George Andrews in Auckland on 09 522 0502.
The Male Ballet, a Victoria University tradition which was carried on for several decades, will be revived at an Extravaganza reunion concert next month.
The ballets were a feature of the shows, which were the forerunners of the capping revues of today.
Alumni relations manager Sharon Major said there had been a lot of interest in the reunion concert, to be held on July 17, and it seemed all the seats would be pre-sold.
Some of New Zealand's best known entertainers and personalities have launched their careers in Extravs, among them television presenter Paul Holmes, actress Barbara Ewing and comedian John Clarke.
However, organisers want to hear from the hundreds of others that have walked the boards in Extravs. Former actors interested in appearing in the show should contact the Alumni Relations Centre at Victoria University.
News Vuw ISSN 1171-3542, Vol 2 No 8 14 June 1993 Vic boosts local economy – pages 8, 9
Warning on get-rich scheme – page 11
New computer set-up – page 2
NewsVUWis a fortnightly newspaper for staff and students of Victoria University of WellingtonExtravComes Alive Again
, the student revue that marked graduation celebrations at Vic for many years, comes alive again on July 17 with a revival-cum-reunion at the Memorial Theatre.Extra VaganzaRoger Hall, New Zealand's most successful playwright
(Glide Time, Middle Age Spread, etc), who was keenly involved in Extrav during his time at Vic in the 60s, has jumped at the chance to join in the show entitledO Extravaganza!He is writing original material and will also appear on stage.The production, to have two performances, is in three sections. Old Age, under the direction of Bill Sheat, will recycle some treasures from Extrav's glorious past and probably include the traditional male ballet.
Middle Age will revive some characters from Extrav history in new material, under the guidance of George Andrews. New Age is, naturally, almost all new, with Deirdre Tarrant holding the reins.
Roger Hall was already a well known figure in Wellington theatrical circles in the 60s, as both a writer and performer, when he received a last-minute request to produce an Extrav — the original plans had fallen through.
The result was
One in Five. "Because of the short notice it had to be a show with a small cast, just five members" he said. "I wrote most of it and performed it with John Clarke, Dave Smith, Cathy Downes and Steve Whitehouse. It turned out to be very successful, and ran for three seasons."Asked whether it was true that Extravs tended to be in dubious taste, Hall said that was one of its points.
"This was before TV, and these were the only outlets for satirical stuff, where we could be rude and use the odd swear word. People knew what to expect, though some who came along were shocked nevertheless. Now there's no point in doing that sort of thing, because people can see it any time on TV and in films."
Bill Sheat is preparing photocopies of some Extrav scripts and programmes — masterpieces from
1950 ,1955 ,1958 ,1960 ,1963 and1967 with titles such asHollandaze, The PAYEoff, Vat 'and59 Well Fair Laddie.Looking through old programmes for Extrav reveals a remarkable number of names now well known in many walks of life. One cast list for the male ballet gave a few names and added: "The other members of the ballet are worried about their reputations and desire to remain anonymous."
The Extrav reunion kicks off at 6.30 pm on Friday July 16 with a conversazione in the Waterloo Room of the St George Hotel. Saturday morning and afternoon will be devoted to rehearsals and catching up with old friends. The atrium in the Union extension will feature displays of nostalgia, and two "devastating performances" of
O Extravaganza!are scheduled for 4.30pm and 8.30pm in the theatre, with audience participation encouraged. Tickets ($22, or $17 for members of the Alumni Association) are available at the State Opera House or from the Alumni Relations centre.
Respected professionals will get the chance to cross-dress and indulge their wayward senses of humour this weekend in a one-off reunion of the legendary Extrav student-revues.
O Extravaganza! is the title of a show that celebrates the 30 years since an Extrav was last performed at the State Opera House (although this show actually takes place at Victoria University's Memorial Theatre). The university's Alumni Relations Manager Sharon Major says the 30 year anniversary seemed like "a good excuse to peg a reunion on".
Not that many of the performers and writers needed much of an excuse - "All the people involved have been feeling nostalgic for their student youth, and they're happy to try to recreate it," Major says. "Most of them loved the opportunity. At rehearsal they've all been telling wonderful tales and recreating the delightful bits."
Among those coming back are Roger Hall, in a rare stage appearance, Liddy Holloway, now appearing as Dr McKenna's wife on Shortland Street, Steve Whitehouse, who will be flying over from United Nations in New York to appear, Cathy Downes and Dave Smith. John Clarke will be making an appearance of sorts - his notorious fear of flying prevents him returning from Australia in person, so he'll be sending a tape of his voice, Major says.
Extravs were famous (or infamous) for being in poor taste in the days before poor taste was available anywhere else. Major says a lot of the old humour will still be topical - "There are three different versions of the national anthem in the show, which they were very nervous about doing the first time. There's one version called God Help New Zealand, so it's still quite topical."
The male ballet (rugged university men dress up as ballerinas) is another stalwart making a reappearance. "I'm astonished at how many blokes are fronting up to appear in the male ballet," Major says.
It seems cross-dressing was a big component of kiwi student humour back in the
Extravs began in
O Extravaganza! will present a mixture of old classics from the heyday of the Extravs, some old Extrav characters in newly-written material (some of it by Roger Hall), and totally new material. It plays at the Memorial Theatre on Saturday July 17 at 4.30 and 8.30pm.
There will also be an exhibition of Extrav memorabilia: old photos, scripts, programmes and posters from the 50s and 60s, on display in the University Atrium.
Capital Time - Page 2
14-20 July 1993
There is no escape for Ross Jamieson, management consultant and former Eastbourne Mayor, as he is set upon by men in Frocks in Wellington.
Mr Jamieson had committed the heinous crime of attempting to get through a dress rehearsal without a dress.
Presumably taking their cue from the occasionally befrocked Police Minister John Banks, the former fellows gleefully took to tutus in readiness for O Extravaganza! — a star-studded show this Saturday that aims to revive Victoria University's golden age of student revue.
Mr Jamieson and his colleagues, all former VUW students, are to stage Potting Mix — a distinctly unlovely version of the Waltz of the Flowers. Surrounding him at rehearsals are: front, architect Brent Whitwell (left) and environmental adviser Martin Ward; and back, from left, lawyer Michael Stace, scientist Hugh Bibby, accountancy student Stephen Phillips and accountant John Young.
Playwright Roger Hall has written new skits for the show, and will appear along with other notable VOW alumni Cathy Downes, Keith Aberdein, Libby Holloway, Dave Smith and Steve Whitehouse. Dance teacher Deirdre Tarrant is one of three directors roped in for the two shows at the university's Memorial Theatre.
Irreverent, bawdy student revues were a big feature of student life, but have been on the decline since the
The recently-launched Victoria University Alumni Association is staging O Extravaganza! in an attempt to revive the tradition.
Extravaganzers: Deirdre Tarrant, left, Steve Whitehouse and Anne Rouse strike dramatic poses on the stairwell of Victoria University's Hunter Building yesterday.
The trio will perform in two Extravaganza reunion concerts to be held in the Memorial Theatre tomorrow.
Like most of the other 60 actors, singers and dancers in the show, they have all gone on to greater things in the entertainment world.
Tarrant has her own dance studio, Whitehouse is a television producer with the United Nations in New York and Rouse was the director of the New Zealand School of Dance till her retirement earlier this year.
While an old university tradition will be revived with fond memories and nostalgia this weekend, it will hold more of a special place in the hearts of a Kelburn family.
Three generations of a Kelburn family, Deirdre Tarrant, her sister Stephanie Dwyer, their father Ted Tarrant and Deirdre's son Bret McKenzie are part of the big revival of an age old university tradition, O Extravaganza this Saturday.
Dance teacher Deirdre Tarrant and her son Bret who live in Kelburn, say they have come together for a one-off celebration which is involving about 60 former students and participators.
Irreverent and bawdy student revues used to be a major feature of student life as far back as
Deirdre and Stephanie appeared in the newspapers in
Deirdre has now gone onto a career in the entertainment business and is director of the Footnote Dance Company.
Although she hasn't danced on stage for 20 years, Deirdre will be dusting off her shoes to appear in a section of the show with Stephanie.
Her father Ted, who was a student in the
Deirdre says the idea for a revival of Extrav began to form last year at a student reunion dinner organised by the newly formed Alumuni.
A small number of sketches and songs were organised for entertainment at the dinner and the idea grew from there, says Deirdre.
Now the first university Extrav since
Although no one seems to know why the Extrav tradition died out in
Student life was a lot more relaxed before internal assessment and there was more time for many extra-curriculum drama and theatre activities during the year, she says.
Looking back at some of the old dance steps she choreographed during the
The dances in the show at that time were part of the development of contemporary dance in the country.
The Extrav has been broken down into three sections, The Old Ages, The Middle Ages and The New Age covering the variety of sketches, plays, dances and songs performed over the years.
Western News 16 July 1993
O Extravaganza! dir Bill Sheat, George Andrews, Deidre Tarrant, Victoria University Memorial Theatre
As a member of three Extravs in the mid-50s I can remember the arguments about Extravs getting too big and too much like musical comedies (as we called musicals then), which is not surprising when all the tunes came from Broadway.
The Extrav reunion at the weekend used the more modest style of intimate revue with which Extravs first started in
O Extravaganza! on Saturday brought back to me how amateurish Extravs were. Saturday's opening chorus was rough around the edges, scripts or parts of them were clearly visible in many sketches and songs, and there was the usual muck-up at curtain call.
But "Extrav is not so much a way of life as a hereditary disease," and those afflicted in the audience were prepared to forgive anything on the grounds that they were suffering from "Blenheimers" too. Not that the theatre was soggy with nostalgia; Extrav's irreverence for most things would not allow such an emotion to mar the occasion.
The non-stop revue traced the history of Extravs from what the detailed programme called Old Age through Middle Age to New Age and This Age.
Geoff Datson sang the famous Rollo the Ravaging Roman from the
The moment the dancers appeared the audience went wild. Most were reduced to paroxysms of laughter as a fat bumble bee tried to fertilise in waltz time a bunch of beefy flowers.
One current varsity student who has never seen an Extrav thought that the whole thing was "surreal, bizarre." He has a clean bill of health and does not understand.
The New Age (the 60s) ushered in a degree of sophistication in the writing and performances that was, I'd guess, only intermittently evident in earlier Extravs. The professionalism of Roger Hall, Dave Smith and Steve Whitehouse as both writers and performers was again available for all to see, sadly, for only two performances.
Dave Smith reminded us of his brilliant skills as a pianist, rhymer and skewerer of politicians (Geoff of a 1000 Hours and Bill's Song), and he and Steve Whitehouse returned briefly to the flea-pit called The Roxy and reminisced about the juicy bits of violence in the movies shown there.
I don't often cry from laughing, but Roger Hall got me going on Saturday. His Randy from a third rate touring company of Ladies' Night performing a strip had the tears rolling down my cheeks. For a brief moment we were allowed to revisit the legendary Extravs of the 60s and the late night revues at Downstage, and for this much, thanks. And it was good to see This Age carry on the spirit of Extravs with a funny song about how wonderful Lockwood Smith thinks he looks. The disease is still healthy.
As a television producer for the UN, Steve Whitehouse has been to more than his share of the world's hot spots, writes Jane Clayton
When trouble happens in Mogadishu and Sarajevo it generally happens out of the blue, says former Wellingtonian Steve Whitehouse, whose coverage of events involving the UN frequently ends up on our televisions screens, including recent reports from Somalia on the New Zealand troops based there.
Whitehouse is based in New York, working for the United Nations television arm.
He was back in the city last week, visiting family and taking part in a Victoria University student reunion.
Six weeks ago he was in Somalia, leaving just before the renewed fighting which saw the ambush of UN Pakistani troops and recent deaths of several journalists.
"Nothing very hair-raising has happened to me so far, touch wood," he said. However, his account of his arrival at Mogadishu airport would seem to defy that claim.
"To get to Somalia, you have to fly from Nairobi on a military flight, and the airport itself is a huge armed camp.
"When I arrived at the airport I was picked up in car by a guy who said we should really get a military escort, but we won't bother this time.
"When we drove out to the front of the airport a mob of youths descended on the car, dragged the doors open and tried to steal equipment. The driver put his foot right down and we shot off in a cloud of sand.
"You can't go anywhere without armed guards, either locals with AK47s or with troop escorts. You never know what is going to happen because you are in the middle of this very complex internal fighting among the clans. And sometimes the UN becomes a target as it has in the last few months."
To an outsider, working in such conditions seems intolerable, even impossible. But Whitehouse insists that being so busy and involved in the work means that there is no room for worry.
"The danger in these situations is a bit like of a bolt of lightning. It's something that is just going to happen out of the blue. As long as you take sensible precautions, and you are generally with people who have been around and know where the risks are, you just have to be sensible and trust them.
"There's really not much you can do if something very dangerous is going to happen, and somebody takes a pop at you from behind a wall or something."
Exposing himself to such dangers is something Whitehouse does for several months each year, but he plays down the risks. He says others, particularly camera men and women, face greater risks.
"I take my hat off to journalists who do it on a virtual 24-hour-a-day, 365-days-a-year, basis.
The risk of working for the United Nations is growing as the nature of its activities changes dramatically.
Whitehouse, who has worked for the UN since
Classic examples were United Nations operations in Cyprus and Iran-Iraq. "But now we seem to go in the middle of civil wars," he said.
"Now we are looking at a new type of operation which often isn't so much a question of two governments being in dispute.
"It may well be a civil war, dealing with fighting units that aren't under control of a central government. This is much more dangerous because you don't know who is fighting whom, and the classic examples of that are Yugoslavia and Somalia."
Working under the badge of the United Nations has enabled him to access areas denied to mainstream news organisations.
"As the UN has become much more involved in these very controversial high profile operations we try to go and video them, partly for news purposes and partly as a matter of record so that we have material for documentaries and for other people to use."
"The first of those really dramatic shoots was the end of the Iran-Iraq war in
Whitehouse visited Iraq after the Iran-Iraq war and filmed Iraq's superguns, chemical facilities, and scud missiles. The film was turned into a documentary, "The Hunt for Saddam's Super-weapons".
When going into a war zone, he says, the strategy is take the least possible gear, travelling as light as possible.
"I'll go in as a producer-reporter and hire a local cameraman because they know the risks, their way around, and the contacts. It's kept as simple as possible, just me and the cameraman — you don't want a lot of people hanging round your neck.
"Our main aim is to get as much on air as possible."
The former Yugoslavia was particularly dangerous for photographers and camera operators, who have to stick their necks out.
"They can't hang around in a bar and write their story.
"It's become a high-risk occupation but there are a group of people who do this and are addicted to it. You keep on running into the same people, the same camera teams, the same correspondents."
"While it was obviously dangerous in Sarajevo and other places where the fighting is, in the rest of the country it is fairly calm.
"You can stay in a hotel and go to a cafe in the evening."
"In a place like Somalia you can't go anywhere, as there are no hotels and you can't go anywhere without armed guards."
Does he see himself continuing?
"I only do that kind of video two or three months a year," he says.
"I have to go and digest material. After I've done it I am generally exhausted and think I don't want to do it again. Then three or four months later, I start to think maybe it might be a good idea."
Dominion July 1993
They Came from all over for the Extravaganza reunion held at Vic on July 17 — a carriage full travelled by daylight express from Auckland, singing their way down the Main Trunk line (and not getting thrown off). Roger Hall flew up from Dunedin. And Steve Whitehouse, one of many to whom Extrav memories in the 60s touched a nostalgic cord, even flew in from New York.
Two performances in the Memorial Theatre of O Extravaganza! — reviving many of the most famous acts from extravaganzas through the years — drew packed audiences, and rave reviews (not surprisingly, at least one reviewer was an old Extrav hand as well).
Some 800 people took part, either on stage or in the very participatory audiences, and many stayed on for the partying afterwards.
"The show brought together people from various eras of Extrav," said Sharon Major, director of the Alumni Association. "The cast actually included people from the age of 16 to over 80.
Can Extrav be revived in all its former grandeur?
Dave Smith thinks so, and is keen to do one next year.
"They all thought their years were the best years of Extrav, but when they saw the whole programme it really brought out the continuity of the Extrav tradition."
Bill Sheat, George Andrews and Deirdre Tarrant produced the three segments highlighting items from Old Age, Middle Age and New Age respectively.
Political skits, songs in varying degrees of taste, the inevitable male ballet, all were revived, with the addition of plenty of new topical material, including a geriatric striptease act by Roger Hall which had the audience in convulsions.
Even Professor Sir Geoffrey Palmer made a cameo appearance, strolling across the stage trumpet in hand as Dave Smith was mercilessly lampooning him.
Extravaganza died after
After the success of this year's reunion, the question naturally arose whether it can be revived in all its former grandeur.
Dave Smith thinks so, and is keen to do one next year, perhaps early in the first term.
"It would be rash to say it's going to happen, but there's definitely some enthusiasm there," said Sharon Major.
"One is almost certain in
News View 13
2 August 1993
O Extravaganza! - wasn't it fun!
Radio
Now just to remind you - this Sunday, August 29th, 9.20am, National Radio is broadcasting the Spectrum documentary programme on O Extravaganza!:
"Thirty years on, getting older and older"
... shouldn't that be older and bolder?
As you might have noticed, Jack Perkins was very busy interviewing people on July 17, including putting his microphone under people's noses in the middle of a three second costume change. He is sounding very happy with what has resulted, so tune in to National Radio on Sunday morning to find out. The programme will be rebroadcast on Tuesday 31st August right after the 8pm news.
Video
If that whets your appetite for more, enclosed is an order form for the Extrav video. It is a complete video of the 4.30pm performance - lacking only Sir Geoffrey Palmer's 8.30pm cameo appearance.
Photographs:
Memorabilia
Thankyou very much to everyone who loaned or gave us material for our display. We are still getting a very enthusiastic response to that, and plan to have some of the material on display again on Open Day. Yes we still have some material to return - we haven't forgotten! And yes, we are still accepting new contributions. So if you've recently found some forgotten VUW memorabilia - not just relating to Extrav, but maybe to the drama club or other society or sports club - we are most grateful for any historic bits and pieces.
Leftovers
Did you lose your shirt at Extrav??? We are holding a white XL shirt, found backstage.
Open Day
Saturday 25 September - the whole university is on display, with all the departments joining in - lots to entertain, inform, and do, and aimed at people of all ages. Includes drama, music, debate, lectures, live chess, hands on computing, bugs, poetry, art, architecture etc, etc, etc. So if you were too busy at the Extrav reunion to see anything else round the university, this might be your chance. We are organising an Alumni Café in the Hunter building (volunteers welcome! - phone me if you're interested) as well as inviting alumni to visit the Alumni Relations Centre, Room 314, Hunter. To increase your chances of meeting someone who was at University at the same time as you, we suggest you try to come by at the following times: if you were a student before
Look forward to meeting you again
O Extravaganza! was the successful culmination of months of activity - which began for me as Alumni Relations Manager with a letter from Bill Sheat, in
O Extravaganza! survived: the initial plan that no-one involved post-
From much sheer tedium (for someone who had not been involved in extravs 'then') and hours of hard work, as well as the delight of rehearsals and the eagerness of people to be contacted and to become involved, emerged a wonderful butterfly - the really fun event that was O Extravaganza!
Key people:
Deirdre Tarrant (post
George Andrews - developed and motivated the Auckland contingent, wrote scripts, whipped up publicity - and made a good 'finding' team with Margaret Black;
Bill Sheat - the 'old age' director, and source of much information - who triumphed many times in tracking down original source material;
Margaret Black - contacted numerous people, many of whom we'd lost track of;
Margaret Stewart - calmly organised, sewed and co-ordinated wardrobe;
Bill Wollerman - musician, invaluable at the piano; and Gil Haismann too;
Murray Gray and Philip Keeling who took over (with Deirdre) as Stage Managers when Peter Frater walked out;
Steve Whitehouse - arrived from New York, wrote script, did PR interviews, rehearsed, ad libbed, and with Roger Hall was an adept stagehand;
Roger Hall, whose writing and acting talents were invaluable, and who suggested 'Spectrum' be contacted;
The male ballet - totally reliable for rehearsals, very keen, always eager for more;
Jeanette Baylis, who was a wonderful 'gofer' on the day.
Elizabeth Mirams, for her invaluable work on the registration form; and staff people - Bernard Carpinter, who got so enthused in writing the news article for VUWpoint he believed his own publicity, bought tickets and came to the dinner and show;
Sarah-Jane Minot who unflappably kept track of all registrations, helped with displays and hospitably served afternoon tea with her husband;
Sarah Major (temp staff) handled all the in-office ticketing and registrations, organised the memorabilia display and took rehearsal and dress rehearsal photographs.
Special thank you to the
Attendance:
4.30pm show: 231, plus video operator, some complimentaries, and various cast. 45 tickets sold by BASS. Definitely attracted our older members.
8.30pm show: 352, plus video operator, and some cast. 105 tickets sold by BASS.
Of total tickets pre-sold (i.e. not door sales) 243 were at the discount - alumni, cast or student - rate.
The audience came from Rarotonga, Brisbane, Auckland, Taupo, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Waikanae, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin.
Audience dedication:
The lecturer in physics and astronomy who chose to come to Extrav, instead of to the Astronomy lecture by Patrick Moore: "The first time I went out with the girl who became my wife, we went to an extrav. We couldn't miss this one."
Alumni Membership: 47 new members, and 20 early subscription renewals.
Donations: $550.00 ($500.00 from an anonymous donor, one week after the event,
$50.00 in advance from another alumna, in lieu of buying tickets.)
Cast & Crew: 67 approximately; plus extra Alumni Association committee members as front of house: Beverley Wakem, Sonia Irain-Patterson, Elizabeth Mirams, Murray Radford, David Tai, with Drama Club ushers organised by Ryk Goddard; programme sellers George (Black) Randall and William Stewart.
Cast (aged from 85 to 16) came from New York, Brisbane, Whangarei, Auckland, Taupo, Stratford, Tauranga, Hawkes Bay, Wanganui, Wellington, Dunedin;
Memorabilia: Was contributed by many people, notably Bill Sheat, Ian Allen, Geraldine McDonald, Des Deacon, Rita Scotney, Graeme Gordon, Paul Taylor, Tony Ferrers, Derek Homewood, Deirdre Tarrant, Stephanie Dwyer, Sonja Easterbook-Smith, Dave Smith, Dennis Brown, George Andrews, Philip Keeling, Margaret Black. Professor Shayle Searle in New York was the first to send in copies of old photographs.
The photocopying of old Cappicades, with colour photocopies for the covers worked extremely well. An extra two weeks to mount memorabilia and prepare 'legends' would have been helpful.
The memorabilia exhibition attracted people to arrive at the theatre extremely early, to really study the memorabilia.
Sponsorship: From Fay Richwhite - thanks to the initial approach from George Andrews to Sir Michael Fay, followed through by me to William (Bill) Birnie. The sponsorship was enormously helpful. It took the form of providing Fay Richwhite expertise for design assistance, layout and printing through their printers of all programmes, posters, handbills, ticket folders; and preparing advertisements to bromide stage. i.e. Fay Richwhite paid all those printing bills, we paid for advertising. Preparing all the programme information, an enormous and time consuming task for me, was considerably helped by David Lightwood's unflappable approach to layout.
Douglas Wilson, Ideas Advertising, provided the O Extravaganza! logo, while Bob Brockie designed the poster.
Publications and Media Services provided free advertising in News VUW, and in the Staff Circular; 'temp staff' wages came from the Alumni Relations Centre budget.
The sponsorship contribution probably almost equals the profit from O Extrav.
Publicity: In addition to printed publicity (copies attached, including front page of Evening Post and p3 Dominion), and the News VUW and VUW point coverage;
Newsletters and letters went sent to the slowly accumulated lists of former extrav participants, from February to
Radio Interviews: in the week prior to July 17, Steve Whitehouse with Kim Hill on 2YA; Steve Whitehouse, Clive Thorp and Gil Haisman with Kathryn Asaré on 2ZB; several weeks prior, Max Cryer on Radio Pacific, George Andrews on Radio Pacific;
Spectrum documentary "Thirty years on, growing older and older . ." was broadcast on Sunday August 29 (& repeated on August 31).
Advertising: Listener,
Bass Booking Office: Proved rather difficult to deal with, partly because they were coping with a total management/staff change during the few weeks of our production ticket sales. However using Bass was the cheapest way to get seat-specific, printed tickets.
Tickets for sale through our office were all printed COMP, at 00.00 cost -- so we had to place small stickers over the zero cost. It did not seem possible for BASS to print out tickets for us to sell which gave the actual prices: if tickets were not sold over their counter they were complimentary.
BASS sold 6 tickets at $28.00, instead of the full price of $22.00 or the $17.00 concession price - "a computer mistake". Fortunately one BASS staffer noticed their mistake, checked and corrected it. It was not possible to identify to whom those tickets were sold.
When tickets were collected as pre-arranged, at 2.30pm on Saturday 17, for potential door sale at the theatre, we were given a list of tickets sold, but not the actual unsold tickets. Fortunately this was realised by my ticket collector, and the unsold tickets which we had specifically requested in advance were printed out for us. It would have been impossible to know what seats were available for door sales, without the actual tickets.
Of nearly 600 show tickets sold, 150 were sold through BASS.
Memorial Theatre: Some communication problems surfaced here, with liaison between the Union management and the theatre (and theatre bar) staff. Despite enquiries weeks in advance, we were unable to obtain information about the space for wheelchairs till 35 minutes before the 4.30 show began (one row of seats lifts out); the Theatre was booked till midnight, but the bar manager attempted to close the bar at 11pm, when the foyer was full of happy audience who did not want to leave.
The backstage green room area is particularly shabby, with space taken up by old carpet storage. This proved a problem for serving cast lunches, as this area was not very clean, and very squashed for the numbers involved. Since the cast's scheduled lunch was unavoidably delayed, we ended up with an overlap between cast lunch and audience afternoon tea. Some cast/crew who were very busy didn't discover the kitchen and green room (down a flight of stairs) and the fruit, bread and cheese available there - yet food was not allowed on the side of the stage. Time - and the lack of it - was a problem, but this was probably unavoidable with a show for which the whole cast was together for the first time that morning.
The theatre foyer is very shabby in daylight, needed considerable disguise to look festive and interesting.
Geoff Hewitt, the theatre staff person, was very helpful and professional.
We were charged a very reasonable (VUW event) theatre hirage rate.
Buffet Tea: Problem with access from two doors, into both sides of Vickys. For any future events, it would be better to enter through one door only with a floating 'house manager' to greet and direct people to the other buffet.
The door people found it very difficult to prevent entry by determined free loaders.
The tables decorated up well with red cloths (which we had specified and paid for), white napkins and candles, green holly and ivy. Large round candles were used, which scarcely burned down at all, and which will now be available for future events. But spare chairs needed to be available, so people who wanted to congregate together could do so, without disrupting other tables too much.
Afternoon Tea: This was very successful. Having good coffee which smelt great was a real help, combined with lovely food from Cushla's Cuisine and lots of it, so extra people could easily be accommodated.
Conversazione: Extremely successful, with about twice as many people as anticipated. A very cheerful gathering and start to the weekend. There was a cash bar, and we provided $150.00 worth of sandwiches and chippies (from registration income). The Hotel St George no longer has its own kitchens, so no 'bar counter' food was available - it would have to be ordered and paid for in advance. Many people ate at Armadillos afterwards.
Breakfast: A very friendly cheerful conclusion to the festivities, and with lots of coffee, fresh fruit, muffins and breads, very good value from the Skyline for $10.00.
After Show Party: Impressions bar, Park Royal. Bill Wollerman excelled at the piano, with even people who were strangers joining in the singing. Bar staff were delighted with the friendly crowd, but kept trying to close the bar down. A very good venue for a smallish gathering, Impressions has a resident pianist on week nights, but not at weekends.
Biggest disappointment:
The Woolf Photography camera failure, which ruined the official cast photos. Those from the Old Age, Middle Age and the Present are barely usable, the New Age totally unusable.
Biggest joy: The audience response, the glowing faces which emerged from each performance. As the Vice Chancellor commented, laughing: "I expected nostalgia, and to smile a lot, but I didn't expect it to be so funny."
Satisfaction: Backstage - the cast realisation that it wasn't just 'their year' that was good - from the
Many favourable letters, phone calls and personal comments; continuing plans for reunions - Auckland September 18, and Wellington - possibly October 16; murmurs about Alumni Association branches in Auckland and in Brisbane.
Budget: Expenditure (estimated) $7,632, income $13,175: Profit $5,543.
New members: 47.
Followup: A mini newsletter was sent to participants (cast, crew and audience who registered);
Videos - 18 sold within one week of advertising them, and we have now sold nearly 50.
Extrav participants became very actively involved as volunteers with the Open Day alumni café, with welcoming people in the Alumni Relations Centre on Open Day and in organising reunions. Some enthusiasts are keen to put on a show next year - but one idea which has been planted is that we work towards a centennial production in
Extrav memorabilia - both the old and that generated on July 17, helped make a colourful and interesting Alumni Relations Centre display for Open Day.
More Extrav/Capping material is becoming available. Some more copies of original scripts have been received, and we were visited by Moira Smith, who is presently based at the Folklore Institute, Indiana University, and who completed her PhD thesis in The Ritual Humor of Students: Capping at Victoria University, 1902-1988'. Moira has a lot of taped material. We are pursuing the possibility of archiving copies of these interviews in the VUW library, as part of an oral archive. The Librarian, Deputy Librarian and Beaglehole Room Librarian are all enthusiastic about storing these tapes and memorabilia where they can be accessed, provided that appropriate releases have been signed.
Our October Alumni Association Downstage block booking, to Roger Hall's By Degrees has attracted 149 participants - several of whom have connected their booking to their enjoyment of O Extravaganza!
Thank you for all your kindness and attention to detail for Quentin in particular, on Saturday. We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and everyone concerned needs an individual bouquet I think! We loved the performance, and were amazed at, nd most interested to see the range of memorabilia and although there were more memories for Quentin than for me, in perusing them all, I was still enchanted to find references to old friends from my Mother's student days. I had forgotten Freddie de la Mare's Vic. connection---and there was his name in more than one entry. His daughter, Judith, is one of my dearest friends. She married Geoffrey Briggs, in England, in the early
They have retired to a charming home on the hills above Adelaide, and we are in regular touch. I shall send the Extravaganza book over this a.m. because I know how much it will mean to Judith to have it. (Now I realize that you may already know the Briggs connection with Vic. so please forgive!)
I sincerely hope that we shall be able to attend more of the Alumni functions this coming year. There have been "clashes of dates" every other time so far—inevitable I suppose with Quentin's long connection with all things Wellington, and our joint involvment in many interests. This life is called retirement, and to that I had looked forward, with many plans for activities for myself. The latter are still awaiting my attention!
I trust you will have a quiet period after what must have been a particularly busy time. Congratulations on superb organisation, and again our thanks for a wonderfully nostalgic visit.
I have just returned from a fantastic weekend at Extravaganza 93. What a great time was had. Many thanks from an old Extrav hand of
Three things you might be good enough to follow up on for me;
a. could you photocopy the program relating to the show entitled "A Mid November Nights Dream" and send it to me
b. I believe a video was going to be prepared on our collective performances last weekend-I would like a copy when available. Please let me know the cost and I will forward a cheque. c. I am not sure if I have signed up for membership of the Alumni Association. Could you check your records, if not, please forward all details.
The Great Extrav Weekend
The Extrav reunion was wonderful. Thank-you for your inspiration effort and enthusiasm. O Extravaganza was a delicious balance of memories and irreverences of the moment. I particularly liked the line about Extrav being less a show than an hereditary disease. There is certainly a virulent strain of some kind of Extrav addiction in our family.
Congratulations on a very successful endeavour.
VUW Point Alumni Newsletter ISSN 1171-8099, Vol 2 No 2 September, 1993 University Fun on Open DayDinosaurs and superconductors, art, poetry and music, the trial of Oscar Wilde and a vote on New Zealand's most unpopular politician — all will be part of Victoria University's Open Day on Saturday September 25. Organiser Dr David Burton emphasises that the Open Day is fun for the whole family. "Come early and stay the whole day," he said. "There will be a great variety of activities, displays, and entertainment."
Some highlights:
Hunter Building:The restoration project is not completely finished but much of Hunter is open for public inspection after being closed for about 15 years. The Alumni Association is hosting an Open Day café, on level two of the Hunter building.
Ostracism:In ancient Greece any ostracised politician had to leave the country for 10 years. With a general election due, there may be special interest in ostracising a politician.
Dinosaurs:The DNA display will give some idea of how plausible the plot ofJurassic Parkreally is; fossils of New Zealand's own dinosaurs will be on display along with a life-size replica of a flying pterosaurus with a four-metre wingspan; and live tuatara will make a rare public appearance.
Other science:Superconductors and laser beams, weather and earthquakes, giant wetas and tiny animals from the garden will all be part of the science displays. The scanning electron microscope will magnify a honeybee up to 100,000 times, and gardeners can bring in soil for analysis.
Live performances:Oscar Wilde was at the height of a glittering literary career when he was accused of homosexuality, then a crime under English law. He was convicted, imprisoned and disgraced. On Open Day the Law Faculty and the Drama Club are staging a re-enactment of Wilde's trial. Other live entertainment includes Chaucer's bawdy medieval classic "The Miller's Tale", one-act plays, readings by children's writer and Writer's Fellow Jack Lazenby, and by poets Bill Manhire, Jenny Bornholdt, Diana Hawken, Fiona Kidman, Harry Ricketts and Vincent O'Sullivan.
Art:Victoria University has a significant collection of New Zealand art, dominated by Colin McCahon'sGate III. Other artists represented include Milan Mrkusich, Gretchen Albrecht, Brent Wong, Heather Busch, Toss Woollaston, Frances Hodgkins, Evelyn Page and Ralph Hotere.
Music:Sample Professor David Farquhar's newSerenade for Strings, commissioned by Denis Adam for the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, a rehearsal of the 18th-centuryLes Fêtes Vénitiennes, works by women composers, period instruments and the Gamelan Orchestra.Other attractions will include architecture in action, human chess, a computer model of the economy, the generation of new plant varieties, a film on German reunification, women's studies focusing on the suffrage centennial, the chemistry magic show and a literary quiz.
Diary
All events are free of charge unless indicated
Graduate School of Business and Government
Management Alumni Chapter LunchMonday
27 September 1993 , 12.00 noonGraeme Nahkies: CEO, Hutt Valley Health
Corporation Ltd: "Say CHEs!" $25 for members; $30 for non-member guests. Enquiries to: Crysa Damianou, GSBGM, Tel: 471 5367
Plunket Medal Oratory Competition: The 87th Annual ContestThursday 30 September, 7.30pm
Adam Concert Room, School of Music
Admission: $5.00 and $3.00
VUW Debating Society with the English Speaking Union and Alumni Association. Oratory should convince the reason, stir the emotion, and compel constructive action. Come and be inspired!
By DegreesRoger HallMonday 18 October, Downstage Theatre Alumni Block booking - see enclosed slip
Seminars, Lectures, Concerts
Lecture Series: "Women and the Election in Suffrage Year"
Wednesdays 12.00-1.00pm, Murphy 10122 September: Anne Pomeroy
Women in agriculture29 September: Judith Davey
Women, health and home ownership6 October: Alison Laurie
Women and human rights
Stout Research Centre
Wednesday Seminars 4.10pm Stout Research Centre 12 Wai-te-ata Road22 September: Dorita Hannah
Performance, space, architecture29 September: Sarah Shieff
Cultural magpies: musical reworkings of Denis Glover's poetry6 October: Jennie Gallagher
Mountaineering women13 October: Jessie Munro
Mother Aubert's collecting tour
School of Music
All in the Adam Concert Room, VUW Organ RecitalTuesday 21 September, 5.30pm.
Janet Gibbs: Bruhns, Buxtehude, Homilus, Walond, Zwart, Bach. $10.
Thursday lunchtime concerts (1.00pm)23 September
Schwanengesang(1828 ), Franz Schubert. Peter Russell bass baritone, Margaret Nielsen piano30 September
Australian piano duo Diane Selmon and Charles Glenn. Music by Hummel, Gerard Brophy, Rachmaninov and Infante
7 October
Rossini, Burch, von Weber. VUW Orchestra with student soloists
14 October, 12.00 noon
Grand Finale: Serious and not-so serious End-of-Year Celebration
Studio performance
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes7.30 pm Friday 8 October
4.00 pm Sunday 10 October
Admission $15 and $5
Scenes from the opera-ballet by André Campra (
1660 -1744 ). Vocal soloists, members of the Baroque Workshop, VUW Chamber Orchestra and students from the New Zealand School of Dance. Directed by Peter Walls, with Emily Mair and Greer Garden. Choreography: Jennifer Shennan
Public Lecture"Mahler's biography as a key to his works"
8pm Wednesday 13 October
Prof Henry-Louis de La Grange (Paris)
Professor de La Grange will also give a lecture to students in the course "Music in the Romantic Era" entitled"Music about music in Mahler: Reminiscences, allusions or quotations?"Wednesday 13 October, 11.00am Alumni welcome.
Faculty of Commerce and Administration
Economics Group Seminar Programme Wednesdays 12.00 noon, Murphy 50629 September
Prof Douglas Pearce (North Carolina)
Discount Window Borrowing and Federal Reserve Operation Regimes20th October
Professor Mike Veall (McMaster)
A Bootstrap method for Testing Non-Linear Restrictions27 October
Dr Dimitri Margaritis (Waikato)
Productivity Changes in the New Zealand Manufacturing Sector:1979 -1991 3 November
Prof Martin J Osborne (McMaster)
A Model of Political Competition with Citizen-Candidates10 November
John W Wood (Lincoln)
Spatial variations in Uncertainty
is published by the Alumni Relations Centre of Victoria University of WellingtonVUW PointOpen Day– 25SeptemberAlumni Relations Centre, Level 3, Hunter BuildingTo increase your chances of meeting someone who was at University at the same time as you, we suggest you try to visit at the following times: if you were a student before
1940 , between 10am and 11am;1940 -1949 , 11am-12noon;1950 -1959 , 12noon-1pm;1960 -1969 , 1pm-2pm;1970 -1979 , 2pm-3pm;1980 and after, 3pm-4pm.Alumni Café, Level 2, Hunter BuildingCome to the one-day-only, special Alumni café - right next to the University Council rooms.
NB: Until Hunter is completed, including the courtyard, there is no wheelchair access into the building. There are lifts, but first the front steps must be negotiated.
Weir House60th Anniversary ReunionAre you a former resident of Weir House? Join them in celebrating their 60th anniversary, on Saturday evening, 25 September. Catch up with old friends at the early evening Cocktail Party in Weir, and at the Reunion Dinner following it in the Student Union Building.
Contact Tricia Walbridge for tickets, Victoria University Foundation - tel: (04) 495 5109; fax: (04) 495 5244; or PO Box 600 Wellington. It will be a great occasion and we look forward to seeing you there!
I am delighted to welcome everyone to the O Extravaganza! reunion.
It is a joy to have the opportunity to revisit some of the glories of Extrav's past, and to meet again some of the memorable characters and personalities who gave Extrav richness and depth.
We are indebted to the many people who have found and made available their extrav memorabilia, or who have searched their memories and their network of friends to find those with whom we'd lost contact. The Sheat family collection has proved an invaluable source of information about Extrav's past, and that connection and some of the other names which recur through the decades add substance to the introduction to Extravaganza 1966: "Extravaganza is not so much a way of life as a hereditary disease."
I'm looking forward to seeing O Extravaganza! and delighted that the Alumni Association has been able to help make this reunion possible.
There has been talk of an Extravaganza reunion for many years but despite a lot of talk and even some meetings not much happened. The move towards the present reunion started in the early part of 1992 when I found a telephone message on my desk. The message from George Andrews was somewhat cryptic - two words "Extrav Reunion".
The first move was to place an advertisement in the Listener and this drew a small number of replies. The first was from Jack Ilot who had been in the chorus between
For me the real excitement came when rehearsal:, were under way. Rosemary Norman, Bill Wollerman and I were very keen to present one of Jeff Stewart's original songs"I Can't Get a Girl to Practise On". We found that we were short of some of the words. As Jeff had died a few years ago, we had to follow other leads. His niece suggested that Jeff had left his music to the Kapiti Players but an enquiry to them drew a blank. A fax in from Frank Curtin in Queensland indicated that he had a script of the
In the course of discussing with Geoff Datson his singing of the great classic "Rollo the Ravaging Roman" I mentioned that it had been composed by R L Hutchens and did Geoff think that was the R L Hutchens who had a career in foreign affairs. Geoff said "We'll soon find out" and minutes later rang me back to say yes, it was indeed he and that he was alive and well and living in Khandallah. This was a real find, for "Rollo" was one of the legendary Extrav songs that was still being sung around Victoria into the "Rollo". I expect someone to come forward and tell how they actually sang "Rollo" in the city of Rome itself.
Some of the best material never found its way into printed programmes or indeed into printed scripts. The Miss New Zealand Sequence from
Probably the highlight of all the discoveries for me was when Mike Benge came to a rehearsal with a pile of Cappicades from Zealous Zombies" and "Peter in Blunderland". These are two landmark scripts in the history of Extrav but I had never seen them before.
One of the things that I hope will emerge from the present reunion is that a full set of scripts will be assembled and kept in a secure place such as the Beaglehole Room so that they are available for all who may be interested.
In this programme there are the words of a song from
Extrav is a tradition which goes back now for 90 years. Today's students have revived the tradition - long may it continue.
The Northern push for an Extrav Reunion probably began at a function at Murray Gray's Under Silkwood bookshop in Parnell when a speaker rashly suggested that he was the only person present who knew Murray as Jigger.
Not so, protested half a dozen of us - proud to claim a link with Jigger and Victoria's earlier, glorious age. For me, that link had been a single season of Extravaganza, "A Mid November Night's Dream" in
It was Jigger who reminded me that it would soon be 30 years since the last of the Opera House Extravs, and who also pointed out that the way to get a handle on whether Wellingtonians could rustle up a reunion would be to ring Des Deacon and John Tannahill. I did, and they had: ring Bill Sheat they said. The rest is history.
Andy Du Fresne, John Young and Peter Frater were the first to contact me alter the Listener ad appeared, and Hugh Campbell and Lyn Catley Milnes joined Jigger and me as an Auckland ginger group.
But like most important things in New Zealand, nothing would have happened without the movers and shakers in the Capital. Sharon Major of the Alumni Relations Centre saw the opportunity and seized the moment, Deirdre Tarrant had the courage to take on running the show itself, and Margaret Black, more than anyone I know, remembered the magic of those Extravs of our era and cared enough to track down most of the survivors you see on stage tonight.
"O Extravaganza!" - the O of this title has had many inflexions, interpretations and exasperations over many years!
My original involvement was on 'the cusp' at the end of the era of the Opera House and the beginning of the Memorial Theatre Extravs, with particular involvement in the development of the now historical (and then hysterical) Christmas Revues. When Sharon Major launched the VUW Alumni Association and bullied Bobbi Gibbons and myself to 'do an item' for the dinner many memories and lots of laughs were recalled. Bill Sheat had been wanting to reunite for a number of years but the forming of the Alumni Association and the rejoining of the two of us from those differing times seemed a real catalyst - O Extravaganza! was born!
It has been a real archival education - in people, politics and passion. Our wonderful production assistant Margaret Black has spent her entertainment budget for
My most renowned stand in
The New Age looks forward to shifting back in time in the next reunion! But I suspect the end of the seventies is always going to have an emphasis on New. With many thanks to Sharon, Bill, Bobbi, George and Margaret - enjoy Extravaganza
Munchums
Writers: F A de la Mare, S S Mackenzie, S Eichelbaum
The Golden Calf
Writers: F A de la Mare, S S Mackenzie, S Eichelbaum
South Sea Bubbles
Writers: G M Hogben, J M Hogben
Shackleton Out-Shacked
Writers: A H Bogle, Daisy Isaacs, G M Hogben, J M Hogben
The Bended Bow or The Survival of the Fit
A Musical Extravaganza
Writers: Erica Fell, A H Bogle, G M Cleghorn,
S Eichelbaum, F A de la Mare, G H Nicholls
Reform or The Metamorphosis of the Evoluters
Wumpty Dumpty
Writers: P B Broad, A G Brockett, A E Caddick,
G M Cleghorn, S Eichelbaum, F Hall-Jones
The Shaming of the Shrews
Writers: F Hall-Jones, P Grey, H H Daniel, P B Broad,
A E Caddick. Music by W H Stainton
Boadicea
Writer: L P Leary. Producer/Director: L P Leary
Der Tag or The Path of Progress
Writers: Anon - various. Two choruses by Maughan Barnett
The Dogs
Writers: Anon - various. Music for a dance by W H Stainton.
Producer/Director: E Evans
Done to Death
Writers: W E Leicester, C Q Pope. Music - W H Stainton.
Producer/Director: Vryn Evans
'Struth!
Writer: P B Broad. Music - W H Stainton.
Producer/Director: Vryn Evans
Luv
Writer: N A Byrne. Some original music - B Taylor, H J Findlay.
Producer/Director: Theodore Tresize
Pep
Writer: N A Byrne. Music for two songs - W H Stainton.
Producer/Director: Theodore Tresize
Years of darkness
G.G.
Writers: P Hohepa Emihi ( P J G Smith), D J Donald
Original music - W H Stainton. Producer/Director: Vryn Evans
Kyd
Writers: P Hohepa Emihi, D J Donald. Music - W H Stainton,
A C Keys. Producer/Director: Vryn Evans
Willum the Conk
Writer: L G Donald. Producer/Director: Don Priestley
Revue:
Dry Rot
Writer: C G Watson. Producer/Director: D G Edwards
Souled
Writer: A Hellion, Producer/Director: W J Mountjoy
Coax and Hoax
Writer: R B Phillips. Original music - Merv Pearce.
Producer/Director: W J Mountjoy
Revue:
Three Sheets in The Wind
Writer: Redmond Phillips. Producer/Director: D G Edwards
The Gully Trap
Writer: Redmond Phillips. Producer/Director: D G Edwards
Great Caesar!
Writer: Spurius Denarius. Producer/Director: Don Priestley
Mr Galahad
Writer: Redmond Phillips. Producer/Director: W J Mountjoy
Cappicade:
Sheba
Writers: N Z Goodz. Producer/Director: Don Priestley
Murder in the Common Room
Writer: Redmond Phillips. Producer/Director: Miss D Tossman
Medea and Soda
Writer: Redmond Phillips. Original music - Merv Pearce,
H Coventry, Producer/Director: W J Mountjoy
Pecadillo
Writer: Redmond Phillips.
Original music - Jock Staveley, Merv Pearce
Hells Bells
Writer: ATS McGhie. Producer/Director: W J Mountjoy
Brave New Zealand
Writer: Ronald Meek. Original music - John Carrad
Producer/Director: J B Aimers
The Plutocrats
Writer: Ronald Meek. Original music - W S Austin, J Carrad.
Producer/Director: W J Mountjoy Jnr, R L Hutchens
The Book of Bob
Writers: 'The 7 Pillars of Wisdom', J Aimers, K Tahiwi,
R Phillips, 'Bonk' Scotney, N Harrison, P Macaskill.
Producer: Pat Macaskill
Daze Bay Nights
Words and music - John Carrad
A Banned Item
Writer: Ronald L Meek. Music - W S Austin
Port Nick Iniquity
Writer: John Carrad
Olympian Nights
Writer: Ronald Meek
Music - W S Austin, Lloyd Black, John Carrad
The Vikings
Writer: Ron Meek. Music - R L Hutchens.
Producer/Director: Ralph Hogg
Comes the Dawn
Writer: Ron Meek. Music - R L Hutchens.
Producer/Director: Hilary Henderson
Adam in Wonderland
Writers: Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Producer/Director: J B Aimers
The Dinkum Oil
Words, Music, Director: John Carrad
You Can't Pick a Winner
Writer: John Carrad. Producer/Director: John Carrad
Centennial Scandals
Writer: Ron Meek. Producer/Director: Ralph Hogg
The Horse that Wooden
Writer: The Two Pillars of Salt (Marie Best & Elma Johnson).
Producer/Director: Marie Best
Gone With the Wind Up
Words & Music: John Carrad
The Sky's the Limit
Writers: Anon
Zealous Zombies
Writer: Ron Meek. Producer/Director: Ron Meek
Peter in Blunderland
Writers: Ron Meek, W B Bland. Producer/Director: Ron Meek
Ocean Going Blues
Words & Music: John Carrad
Peter Pansy
Writers: The Corny Combine. Producer/Director: John McCreary
Utopanella
Writers: The Comedy Harmonists.
Producer/Director: John McCreary
Vot-Thu-Halla
Writers: Jean Melling, Jeff Stewart. Original music - Jeff Stewart.
Producer/Director: Jean Melling, Jeff Stewart, Dave Cohen
Jubileevit
Writer: T Cecil Rauparaha. Producer/Director: Dave Cohen
Hollandaze
Writer: Frank Curtin, Jeff Stewart, Paul Cotton, Richard Rainey,
Bill Sheat. Producer/Director: Dave Cohen
Sidarella
Writers: Conrad Bollinger, Hector McNeil, Leon B Piper.
Producer/Director: Dave Cohen
Shamlet proposed, but not perpetrated
Marsqueraid
Writers: Patricia Burns, Gill Lescher, Frank Curtin, Conrad
Bollinger, Dave Cohen. Producer/Director: Jeff Stewart
The Pirates of Finance
Writers: Jim Hutchison, Ian Free, John McLean, Gavin Loe,
Ian Rich, John Treadwell, Bill Sheat, Gavin Yates, Garth Young.
Producer/Director: Bill Sheat, Gavin Yates
The Happy Squanderer or, Oils Well That Ends Well
Writers: Jim Hutchison, Gavin Loe, Bill Sheat, Ben Goffman,
Ian Rich. Producer/Director: Bill Sheat
The Seven Year Switch
Writers: Ian Rich (and John Sadleir, Jim Hutchison, Ben Goffman,
Patsy Lawson, Diane Spurdle, Tony Ferrers, Rosemary Lovegrove,
Ted Schroder and Dennis Brown). Producer/Director: Ian Rich
Up the Poll
Writers: Frank Curtin, Ian Rich, Bill Sheat.
Producer/Director: Ian Rich, Bill Sheat
The Paye Off
Writers: Frank Curtin, Terry Browne, Tony Ferrers,
Ben Goffman, Bill Sheat. Producer/Director Bill Sheat
Vat 59
Writers: Terry Browne, Bill Sheat, John Sadlier.
Producer/Director: Terry Browne
Carry on Phil
Writers: Bill Sheat, Terry Browne, Frank Curtin, John Sadlier,
Jeff Stewart. Producer/Director: Bill Sheat, Terry Browne
Well Fair Laddie
Writer: John Sadlier. Producer/Director: Jeff Stewart
The Twister
Writer: Paul Spender. Producer/Director: Jeff Stewart
Mid-November Night's Dream
Writers: Bill Sheat, Terry Browne. Producer/Director: Terry Browne
We Are The Greatest
Writer: David Flude. Producer/Director: Jeremy Agar
Gunk
Writers: Doug Wilson, Dennis Paxie.
Producer/Director: Doug Wilson
Extravaganza 66
Writers: Various. Producer/Director: Steve Whitehouse, Ian Smith
Extravaganza 67
Writers: Roger Hall, Steve Whitehouse. Producer/Director: Bill Sheat
Extrav 68
Writers: Roger Hall, Dave Smith. Producer/Director: Roger Hall
At Last the 1969 Extravaganza
Writers: Simon Morris, John Clarke, Ian MacDonald, Ken White,
Peter Needham Nigel Hyde. Producer/Director: John Clarke, Ian
MacDonald, Ken White, Simon Morris
One in Five
Writers: Roger Hall, Dave Smith, John Clarke.
Producer/Director: Roger Hall
Big Mother is Watching You
Writer: David Geary. Producer/Director: David Geary
Bloody Students They Should All Be Shot
Writers: Various. Producer/Director: Paul Horan
You had to be There Maureen
Writers: Various. Producer/Director: Steve Bridie
Decapitator
Writers: Various. Producer/Director: Jo Carr
Silence of the Goldfish
Writers: Various. Producer/Director: Warren Friend, Nick Ward
Diced and Sliced
Writers: Various. Producer/Director: Peter Burger
Scripts from 1904 to 1970
Additional material
Dave Smith, Bill Sheat, Roger Hall, Peter Coates, George Andrews, Dinah Bradley, Lyn Catley Milnes, Steve Page
Choreographer
Deirdre Tarrant
Production Assistant
Margaret Black
Stage Crew
Peter Frater, Murray Gray, Philip Keeling, Peter Standen, Jane Barton
Wardrobe
Auckland singing coach
Max Cryer
Programme
Bill Sheat, Sharon Major, Fay Richwhite
Logo
Douglas Wilson, Ideas Advertising
Poster
Bob Brockie
Front of House
Sharon Major & Alumni Association members
Cast
George Andrews, Mike Benge, Dinah Bradley, Dennis Brown,
Hugh Campbell, Richard Cathie, Peter Coates, Andrew Cornwall, Geoff Datson, Des Deacon, Peter Debreceny, Tony Ferrers, Helen Goldblatt, Murray Gray, Roger Hall, Derek Homewood, Jack Ilott, Tony Lenart, Anne Manchester, Roy Melford, Lyn Catley Milnes, Armour Mitchell, Mike Mitchell, Rhys Morgan, Diana Newbury, Rosemary Norman, Damien O'Driscoll, Ann Rowse, David Roughan, Bill Sheat, Cathie Sheat, Dave Smith, Tiri Sotiri, Alister Taylor, John Tannahill, Ted Tarrant, Barrie Travis, Steve Whitehouse
Dancers
Stephanie Dwyer, Sonja Easterbrook-Smith, Bobbi Gibbons, Margie Hardie, Prue Smith, Deirdre Tarrant
Male Ballet
Hugh Bibby, Chris Dentice, Ross Jamieson, Dennis Paxie, Stephen Phillips, Michael Stace, Clive Thorp, Martin Ward, Brent Whitwell, John Young, Roger Lawrence, Bill Reece, Keven Tate
Musicians
Bill Wollerman, Gil Haisman, Louise Major, Bret McKenzie
Varsity Drag
Opening with assembled company
Extrav in Society
Ted Tarrant, Jack Ilott
Rollo the Ravaging Roman
R L Hutchens 1938
Geoff Datson
Kitty from Cairo
Dave Cohen 1941
Kitty Anne Rowse
Singer Joan Stevens
Miss NZ Contest
Jean Melling and Jeff Stewart 1948
Compere Roy Melford
Miss Taranaki John Young
Miss Dunedin Hugh Bibby
Miss Christchurch Chris Dentice
Miss Railway Brent Whitwell
Miss Victoria Michael Stace
Heaven Help New Zealand
Peter Coates, Armour Mitchell, Dennis Brown, Mike Benge
I Love a Doggie
Bill Sheat 1958
Mabel Rosemary Norman
Green Eye of the Little Yellow God & The Botanical Garden Rakes
Tony Ferrers & Derek Homewood
I Can't Get a Girl to Practise On
Jeff Stewart 1950
Bill Sheat, Rosemary Norman
Everything's Up to Date in Windy City
Singalong
Maisie & Lefty
Dinah Bradley, George Andrews
Majestic Cabaret
Tune: Hernando's Hideaway
George Andrews, Dinah Bradley, Hugh Campbell, Andrew Cornwall, Peter Debreceny, Murray Gray, Roy Melford, Lyn Catley Milnes, Diana Newbury, David Roughan, Tiri Sotiri, Alister Taylor, Barrie Travis, Keven Tate
A Little on the Crooked Side
Des Deacon and John Tannahill
Vive the ABC
The Country's in the Very Best of Hands
Potting Mix
(after Petipa, music Tchaikovsky)
Gardener Michael Benge
Bee Dennis Paxie
Flowers
Chris Dentice, Hugh Bibby, Brent Whitwell, John Young, Martin Ward, Ross Jamieson, Michael Stace, Clive Thorp, Stephen Phillips, Bill Reece, Roger Lawrence, Kevin Tate
Hallelujah Bananas
Gil Haisman, Tony Lenart
Devalued Stirling
Roger Hall 1967
Fast Forward
(Music mix, Ian McMinn)
Bobbi Gibbons, Prue Smith, Stephanie Dwyer,
Sonja Easterbrook-Smith, Margie Hardie, Deirdre Tarrant
Take Me to Your Leaders
Dave Smith 1968 - 1993
Dave Smith
Medical Misadventure
Clive Thorp, Steve Whitehouse, Stephanie Dwyer
Ladies Night 2030
Roger Hall
Studz
Roger Hall 1993
Dear Father Christmas
Bill Sheat 1960 to 1970 - Singalong
led by Steve Whitehouse
Wonderful Tonight
Steve Page - 1991, directed by Cathie Sheat
Cathie Sheat, Rhys Morgan, Damien O'Driscoll
Finale
Tune: 76 Trombones
Assembled company
Any resemblance between this programme and the actual performance is a happy coincidence.
They wrote then
"The Horse that Wooden," 1941.
"Olympian Nights" 1938.
"Thou little thinkest what a little foolery governs the world."
Motto of the pre-War Extravaganza Programme.
It would seem to be as difficult to justify the annual Extravaganza of Victoria University College as it is to justify many other things that human creatures do. The institution existed in the "goodoldays" before the lifeline of the College was broken by an extravaganza of another sort conducted overseas. According to tradition, the Extravaganza began as an entertainment for the graduates of the year. The procession that preceded it was intended partly to inform the public that Capping was a time of carnival and partly to advertise the Extravaganza.
Later, when college clubs depended for their support upon those who used them, the Students' Association looked to the Extravaganza to provide the means of satisfying its modest financial requirements. In the Tammany times of the early twenties, College politicians of the authoritarian school at one stroke made student officialdom independent of the favour of the individual by persuading Authority to introduce that minor form of conscription known as the Students' Association Fee; and immediately both Procession and Extravaganza lost whatever meaning remained to them. The Extravaganza lingered on until The article listed Extravs from 1921 to 1934, with
"Done to Death" I saw from the inside. Mr Harcus Plimmer said in the "Dominion" that the performance was obviously intended for the enjoyment of the participants. "A good time was had by everyone," certainly, but the glitter and the melody of the thing seemed to be adequate to the public taste. So was "'Struth", a show written by a returned soldier in an ecstacy of disillusionment. Two toughs were in the stocks when the curtain went up and were back there when it finally went down, but this time they were laughing uproariously at what their answer was likely to be if they were asked to go to a war again. "Luv" and "Pep" were ventures into the purely spectacular under the sponsorship of a producer from outside the College. They were good of their kind, but it wasn't the College kind.
In "G.G." in the Town Hall without scenery of any sort. The very fine songs of DJ Donald, the music of W H (Jimmy) Stainton, the co-operation of the experienced Miss Marie Richmond and Mrs W H Stainton, and new-timers such as A E Campbell and A C Keys, the tightfistedness of the business managers and the general enthusiasm of the College over the revival, all helped to make a record success. Perhaps the fact that the depression had not yet begun explained some of the success. "Kyd," written under difficulties, was produced in the Town Hall in the following year, but lacked the spontaneity of "G. G." and was not as successful. "Willum the Conk", by the young brother of D J Donald, suffered from the inexperience of the author, and received the
"Murder in the Common Room" of this year's "Cappicade" (as the Extravaganza is now called). Should Redmond ("An Irishman, I presume" as Queen Victoria once said) maintain his "Common Room" standard and make fewer concessions to certain superstitions about popular taste, he will write the best show of the current phase.
No record of the modern Extravaganza is complete without mention of the veteran Vryn Evans, who was active in College shows before our period, and during the period has taken the lion's share of the work of producing. He and Jim Stainton (composer of haunting airs and conductor par excellence) have probably done more than any others to help the Extravaganza along. Vryn's capable successor is W J Mountjoy, junior (who has yet, however, to free himself of conventional notions derived from a study of professional leg-shows). Producers to the fingertips are Doug Edwards and Miss Dorothea Tossman.
The question of justification raised at the beginning of these fragments had reference to the Extravaganza as a purposive effort. From this point of view it is only a play, mere folly, of little benefit personally, involving an expenditure of time and effort out of all proportion to the few hours' amusement given, interfering (although not necessarily) with study. If, on the other hand, it be regarded as an opportunity for students for association with one another, it is seen to hold its own against any other incident of the student life and, good or bad, wise or foolish, needs no further justification.
So far the earnest seekers after a native New Zealand literature have quite overlooked the Extravaganza. Yet, in its spontaneity and its unselfconscious expression of the New Zealander's interest in politics and all the strong things in life about him, it is as much an expression of a New Zealander's view of life as the plays of Aristophanes were of the Athenian outlook.
Because of its composite origin, Extrav is a particularly valuable manifestation of local art. There are often many writers of a Wellington Extravaganza, to say nothing of interpolations made by the cast and the contribution to the total effect made by the costume designers, "prop" men and others. It is directly a social work of art like the ballads and sagas of a more coherent age.
Unlike most New Zealand literature of today, Extrav is distinctly local and regional. The comparatively adult revels of Auckland, for example, are quite different from the uninhibited Saturnalia of Wellington.
It may be objected that Extrav has not the permanence of Aristophanes or W S Gilbert. True, the Extravs survive mainly by oral tradition, but survive they do in the Orongorongos and backstage at subsequent Extravs. When wartime brought into the open, at least in army camps, much balladry that had led an underground existence during peacetime, Rollo the Ravaging Roman began to be heard in camp-concerts along with other traditional material.
However, it may be interesting to glance back over the years, so, with our time Machine in reverse, off we go -
Back in Students' Carnival, the precursor of Cappicades yet unborn. In this we read that Diploma day is Wednesday, 24th June, and a Carnival is to be held in the Sydney Street Schoolroom at which the whole thirteen graduates will be capped! On the front cover we are also informed that New Laid Eggs may be obtained from the Fresh Food and Ice Company, and that Tonkin's Linseed emulsion is useful for your cough. (Sold everywhere.)
Peeping inside, we find the programme:
The Victoria College Song No 1, and Maori Haka
Pianoforte Solo, Caprice Espagnol - Mr Grauhauf
Solo, Bedouin Love Song - Mr H P Richmond
Plantation Song, De Lecture (apparently the singer was too bashful to give his name).
Now for Part 2, the beginning of Extrav.
The Fresh Food and Ice Company is with us again on this page, this time extolling the virtues of their Prime Table Poultry! Happy days! People paying good money to the Capping Book committee to advertise eggs for sale!
Then the farce disappears from the scene until Munchums, or
The Origin of Genus, written by Messrs F A de la Mare, S S McKenzie and S Eichelbaum. In Tableau 3, the Historic Age, is:
In travelling on to In Reform or The Metamorphosis of the Evoluters we note:
In Wumpty Dumpty with a distinguished cast featuring Messrs Caddick, Hall-Jones and Sievwright.
By
At the end of World War I, the formalized cover returns. A full-length show is presented in the Town Hall, Der Tag, or The Path of Progress, with a cast including:
The Dogs, featuring such well-known players as P Martin-Smith, S A Wiren, and many others. This auspicious move was celebrated by another return to the art cover in colour.
Now, on to the thirties. B B in Willum the Conk in Coax and Hoax (Murder in the Common Room (Medea and Soda ("Karitane Blues "which is still sometimes heard in Extrav dressing rooms after the
The late nineteen thirties produced another set of brilliant and prolific script writers - the Seven Pillars of Wisdom and Ron Meek. Of the Pillars' efforts the best are probably Hell's Bells (The Book of Bob (Adam in Wonderland (The Voice, Mr W S Austin.
Then come John Carrad's delightful variety shows with their inconsequential nonsense and their catchy songs, Daze Bay Nights, Port Nick Iniquity and The Dinkum Oil.
The last decade of the Extravaganza is dominated by the influence of Ron Meek. Meek admired Aristophanes and W S Gilbert and combined something of the talents of these figures in his writing. He brought to his art intellectual brilliance of the highest order and the highly allegorical, satirical and witty plot has tended to become standard. Meek's influence is plainly seen in the
Intellectual brilliance was perhaps the "fatal flaw" in Meek as an Extrav writer. Sometimes the allegory becomes strained to breaking-point. The Cinderella scene in Centennial Scandals (
This was an extreme case, but it may be doubted whether brilliant lyrics are effective on the stage. It is not easy to follow an argument through a catchy tune.
In another mood, however, Meek's wit found outlet in exuberant satire. The "two grey mares" of
In "Peter in Blunderland" was hilariously witty. It was written by Meek and Bland. Research suggests in the face of probability that both names are genuine.
Meek has now left New Zealand and memories of his successes are in the minds of present scriptwriters. This is not altogether good as he was a difficult writer to imitate. His scripts had unity of tone in a subtle but recognisable intellectual clarity rather than in a rich imagination. Missing this, imitations could be lifeless and incoherent. This is particularly likely where several writers combine to do a script.
There are many possibilities for future development. Extrav may never be as witty as in
Perhaps some (so far) mute, inglorious Meek lolls in the common-room as we write, ready any minute to burst into script. There's room for him.