Mrs Wishy-Washy
By Joy Cowley
Produced by Tim Bray Productions
Adapted for the stage and directed by Tim Bray
Songs by Christine White
Set Design by Jessika Verryt
Costumes designed and constructed by Chantelle Gerrard
Lighting by Micheal Craven
Make up by Natasha Yusoff
Choreography by Linda McFetridge
At the Pumphouse Theatre, Takapuna.
28 September, 2013 to 12 October, 2013.
Tim Bray Productions provides a school holiday service to parents which is of a consistently high theatrical standard and a service to schools that is second to none.
The shows are always of top quality, they’re easily accessible, they’re fun, they invariably introduce audiences to excellent New Zealand literature and, judging by the ‘house full’ sign that regularly appears outside The Pumphouse Theatre, this is a mix that has ‘trustworthy’ written all over it.
The work is cleverly conceived too because every season there’s a new audience of fresh-faced youngsters and excited caregivers just itching to be entertained and engaged because, well, people just go on having babies and those babies just keep growing up. Bray’s productions do all of the above in a time-honoured, if somewhat conservative, fashion and who can complain about this as a classy introduction to the magic of live performance. It’s formulaic, sure, but what of that? It pleases – and continues to please – and that’s all that matters.
It’s been a real privilege to watch Tim Bray Productions evolve and quietly secure a place in an arts environment otherwise littered with the corpses of larger companies who have over-reached themselves, burnt out or, more than likely, simply ceased to be du jour with funders and punters alike. While funding and box office income will always be an issue for theatre groups in this philistine country, Tim Bray Productions seems to have found a satisfying sense of equilibrium where increased business nous and undoubted hard work makes for a thoroughly worthwhile experience for those of us who sit comfortably on the other side of the footlights.
Don’t get me wrong, ‘conservative’ and ‘formulaic’ are, in this context, excellent qualities and they apply to the superstructure – the bricks and mortar- of the productions and not to the work itself, rather like a sanctuary that disguises some serious artistic risk taking within an overtly easy confidence of presentation and Mrs Wishy-Washy is certainly a case in point.
Joy Cowley is rightfully one of New Zealand’s most respected writers for adults, young adults and children. Her website tells us that she “sees herself as a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, this is who she is and writing is what she does”.
Joy Cowley
She has been writing for children since 1953 with some of her stories created especially for a son who was having difficulty learning to read. Many of these stories were published in the New Zealand School Journal during the 60’s and 70’s and are still available in this format. During her association with the Story Box Reading Programme Joy wrote more than 600 titles.
While best known as a writer for children Cowley also writes books of spiritual reflection and this area of interest, in my opinion, permeates all of her work. Many awards have come her way including an OBE for services to children’s literature, a DCNZOM (Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit), the Prime Minister’s Award for Fiction and, to top it all off, Massey University awarded her an honorary D.Litt (Doctor of Literature).
Mrs Wishy-Washy made her first appearance in print in 1980 and since then has appeared in 20 short stories over a 30 year period during which time she appears not to have aged nor has her fashion sense evolved with the times. She is usually accompanied in the stories by her three best mates Cow, Duck and Pig and somewhat less often by her human dishwasher husband Mr Wishy-Washy.
Mrs Wishy-Washy, like many of our mothers, promotes neatness, tidiness, cleanliness and believes that everyone should smell as sweet as roses – not an easy task when dealing with her rather impish farm yard creatures.
Cowley has, through the use of “rhyme, rhythm and repetition”, slotted into a unique style of early learning, a form that does not lend itself easily to dramatization as, while the books are rich in onomatopoeia and resonant sound, they are comparatively short on narrative.
For all the above reasons Bray’s decision to script the Mrs Wishy-Washy stories must have been a challenge but a challenge he has risen to with an expertise that is admirable. That he has been successful speaks volumes for his understanding of the genre and of the creative process itself. Bray has sensibly chosen to create his work within a readily understood form: adult actors playing animals in wonderfully eccentric costumes, a larger than life female character played, in pantomime style, by a wonderfully jovial male and with a single, gender-neutral actor playing a number of linking characters who largely carry the tale.
With the Big Farm Fair happening ‘tomorrow’, which also happens to be Mrs Wishy-Washy’s birthday, it is absolutely essential that Cow, Duck and Pig remain clean, tidy and sweet smelling to impress the judges. Mud, predictably, gets in the way and provides a number of riotous opportunities for the washing, scrubbing and shampooing of everything in sight, all – and I mean all – crammed into a giant metal tub and accompanied by a surfeit of bubbles. All resolves happily, cake is devoured, medals are worn and yet another Tim Bray Productions full house leaves the theatre abundantly satisfied. Few would realize that they had just witnessed the premier performance of a brand spanking new work that could well become a staple for children’s theatre over the next decade such was the ease with which Bray’s cast and crew carried it all off.
The brightly coloured set, (Jessika Verryt) is enchantingly practical and contains a multitude of surprises.
The costumes (Chantelle Gerrard) are true to the wonderfully vivid, original illustrations of Elizabeth Ann Fuller and are brought to life in excellent fashion by all the members of the cast.
Luke Wilson plays a delightfully subservient Mr Wishy-Washy and adds a suitably camp Big Farm Fair judge and lugubriously laconic TV camera operator to his repertoire of characters. He supports ably and, where necessary, drives the narrative.
Hamish McGregor is Mrs Wishy-Washy and it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the role. McGregor, dressed perfectly as per the books, embodies the busty, jovial country woman with seaming ease and develops relationships of quality with all the other characters.
Eli Matthewson is Pig. He is pink, robust and everything a pig should be right down to rapping of (intentionally) questionable quality. Matthewson is an actor of merit and he serves Bray’s text well while at the same time being a vital part of the farmyard trio.
Italia Hunt is a very naughty Cow. His antics in the mud, excellent physicality and sublime comic timing ensure that Cow is an audience favourite throughout.
Katie Burson is a delighful Duck. It’s worth noting at this point that the make-up design (Natasya Yusoff) for all characters – human and animal – contributes tremendously to the success of this production and this is perhaps best exemplified in the masterwork that is Duck. Burson is a wonderfully talented actor and has, in Duck, created a subtle characterization that really grows on the audience. Her solo performance is a fantastic example as what’s possible when talent and character collide and the applause for this was long and heartfelt. Duck is like that kid at school who is always behind the naughtiness but who never seems to get caught.
Last but certainly not least is Pippiajna Tui Jane who plays an incredible raft of characters – Mud, Bubbles, Water, Carwash, Big Farm Fair announcer and TV reporter – with such joy and dynamism that she almost steals the show.
Each Jane character is finally drawn and threads the narrative together in a way that ensures a continuity that is critical and all with a zip and a zing that is immediately likeable.
Tim Bray Productions work for children is always enriched by the musical excellence of Christine White who writes the first-rate songs. They are seamlessly woven into Bray’s narrative and performed live and with finesse by Kristie Addison.
As already noted, but worthy of repeating, Mrs Wish-Washy is performed with an ease and confidence that disguises the fact that this is the premier season of a complex and challenging new work. It’s an all singing, all dancing show and it’s class from beginning to end. Audiences can’t fail to enjoy Mrs Wishy-Washy because it is perfectly pitched at the youngsters for whom it has been created and is exactly the right length. It’s not patronizing and, while not aimed at the adults in the house, there’s plenty for us big people to enjoy as well. Excellent though it already is I anticipate that Mrs Wishy-Washy will refine even more as cast and crew discover those additional subtleties that their audience will introduce them to.
Mrs Wishy-Washy is more than just a comfortable hour long dalliance in the theatre. It is a fine addition to the children’s theatre repertoire and it does Joy Cowley proud on every level. It’s well worth a visit but get in quick because it’s bound to sell out.
dykiegirl 