Extrav Lives Again

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.