The Lead Wait
- Written by: Jo Randerson and Trouble
- Directed by: Andrew Foster
- Circa One
- 14 May − 11 June
A Modern Kiwi Classic
Brother and sister Leon and Juliet live in a remote country house left to them by their parents. Over the years walls have been removed and carpets torn up in preparation for renovations, but instead of working on the house Leon spends his time outside, digging. An obsession that has left the property looking like a warzone and is threatening to bring down the house at its foundations. Juliet meanwhile, sleepwalks her way through a half-hearted affair with their lodger Iain. His rent more or less supports them all, while they have a roof over their heads.
It’s Kiwi dysfunction at its comic best. But the arrival of a mysterious visitor unravels the tensions that belie their obsessive behaviour and begins a night that will unearth a dark secret buried in deep in the past.
Emerging as a new classic of New Zealand theatre, The Lead Wait was first staged in the late Nineties, and became a cult hit for its unsettling hypernaturalism and dark wit.
Warning: strong language, nudity and some content may offend
Please note: NO LATE ADMITTANCE
Running time: 85 minutes (no interval)
“Boiling passions and biting black humour.” – Sunday Star Times
“A must-see production… taking its audience into realms which they never thought possible” – Evening Post
Winner of Chapman Tripp Awards for Best Set, Best Sound design and Best Lighting (1997)
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Cast and crew
Starring Richard Chapman, Heather O'Carroll, Jason Whyte and Scott Wills
Show times
14 May − 11 June
Tuesday and Wednesday 6.30pm
Thursday to Saturday 8.00pm
Sunday 4.00pm
Ticket prices
$46 Adults
$38 Concessions
$33 Friends of Circa (to 26 May)
$39 Groups 6+
$36 Groups 20+
$25 Under 25s
$25 Specials Friday 13 May and Sunday 15 May
Reviews
Deeply Satisfying
By Craig Beardsworth, originally published in the Capital Times, 21 May 2011
Be warned, if you want a rollicking, jolly night out at the theatre then this might not be for you. There is nudity, strong language and raw subject matter. But if you want a deeply satisfying theatrical experience then go see this play.
Playwright Jo Randerson paints a New Zealand family dystopia, dark secrets and dysfunction laid bare. An air of menace pervades the stage and never leaves. In this production, 14 years since its commission, everything is pared back – a skeletal set, few props, the laconic kiwi voice ringing through a stripped back script and most impressively, finely tempered acting. Everything sings in unison here.
Heather O'Carroll with locked jaw stalks across the stage as Juliet – a hard woman barely containing her pain. Her dim younger lover Ian is played by an enchanting Richard Chapman who imbues the role with pouty-lipped innocence. Scott Wills as Leon relishes his role as a psychological bully and finally the catalyst for action – the ‘Man' played by Jason Whyte often says so much just with a stare.
This is a multi-sensory experience. The audience sitting aside a transverse stage watch and smell a fish being cooked, we hear Morepork in the distance, the sound of rain, a leaking roof (hope draining away?), people bathing – it all make us feel intimately connected to the action – the sense of foreboding is real. This is powerful theatre.
After Circa's earlier serving of August: Osage County I was initially reluctant to see anything else. It is a hard act to follow but The Lead Wait can stand tall.
Other Reviews
John Smythe, published on www.theatreview.org.nz 15 May, 2011
David Farrar, published on www.kiwiblog.co.nz 15 May, 2011
Laurie Atkinson, published in The Dominion Post, 16 May 2011
