Old MacDonald's Farm

Kia ora to our lovely Boosters,

Well, here we are. The campaign has closed and thanks to your donations and sharing the campaign around, we have met our target.

Thank you for making local theatre in Auckland more accessible for a broader sweep of the community.
 

What do you need to know going forward from here?

For more about what we're up to in the lead up and during the production season, you'll want to have a look over here: https://www.facebook.com/PearangiCreative or here: https://www.instagram.com/pearangicreative/

For more about the show, including bookings, come here: https://pumphouse.co.nz/whats-on/show/old-macdonalds-farm/ 
 

And again, thank you for making this little dream of ours a reality.

Arohanui, Claire

Kia ora Boosted backers!

This is the final update before the campaign closes, so I'm going to rattle off some names and bios at you quicksmart! Meet the rest of the team who are helping put together Old MacDonald's Farm.

Our set and tech designer, Matt Goldsbro'

Matt is a full-time theatre technician who works across New Zealand, supporting a wide range of productions, venues, and events. With experience in lighting, sound, staging, and production operations, he has worked with theatres, festivals and touring productions to present professional and high-quality events. Matt is the founder of Goldsbro' Productions, where he combines his technical expertise with a passion for supporting local theatre and creating opportunities for emerging artists. Matt is excited to be a part of Old McDonald’s Farm as Set Designer and Technical Designer at his home venue of The PumpHouse Theatre.

Our costume designer, Aaria Harrison-Sparke

Aaria Harrison-Sparke (Waikato Tainui, Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi) is a Taamaki based performer and production designer with a love for fantasy and period shows and costuming. Costuming Old McDonald’s Farm is a challenging project that she is tackling by utilising many mediums, thinking outside the box, and having fun with it! She is most excited to see how all of the costumes and characters come together on stage. 

Also joining us are Rhiannon Hadlow as Stage Manager and Kierron Diaz-Campbell as Props Designer. And besides them, there are so many people who have piled in to help us out as we get this show audience-ready, like our photographer Matthew Diesch, and all the PumpHouse team who have been a huge help with all the ins and outs.

It's almost time to close out this campaign! Thank you so much for getting us to this point. Stay tuned tomorrow for our final sign off before the show.

Ka kite!

Kia ora our lovely backers,

It is my privilege to introduce my decade-plus friend and theatrical co-conspirator Lauren Wilson, without whom I would not be doing any of this theatre lark! 

Lauren (they/them) is an award-winning creative artist based in Tāmaki Makaurau. After training at Victoria University and spending a year working for Disney Entertainment, they returned to the Auckland theatre scene in 2015. Lauren’s performance credits include Lovepuke, Twelfth Night, Richard III, and the award-winning Dracula. Lauren has worn almost every hat in the creative industry, working as an actor, director, producer, intimacy advisor, and lighting/sound designer. They recently directed This Particular Room for the One Act festival for Phoenix and Shoreside Theatre and are working on two short films (Adventure's End and J.A.F.A: 20 Questions) which are in post production. 

Now, as a producer, Lauren is thrilled to bring Old MacDonald Had a Farm to the PumpHouse Theatre. This production marks a wonderful milestone, partnering with Pearangi Creative to bring Claire's fantastic work back to the stage, a collaboration made even more special by Lauren and Claire’s decade-long friendship. 

Creating high-energy, joyful children’s theatre comes with its own unique set of challenges, particularly when it comes to keeping young minds entertained while delivering a wholesome message of unity. To tackle this, the creative team is focusing on building well-rounded, engaging characters. The goal is to show young audiences that even when characters disagree, they can still treat one another with warmth and friendly respect (with the obvious exception of the villainous Mr. Monet-Saques!). 

Supported by an exceptionally talented cast who are bringing the farm to life, Lauren cannot wait for audiences to experience the show. It promises to be a fantastic event, and they highly encourage everyone to bring the whole whānau along for the fun!

Can you believe our Boosted journey is almost over? Next update we'll introduce some of our amazing production team, and then... wow, it'll be our final goodbye before the show. How time flies!

Thank you as always for your support. Ka kite!

Kia ora lovely Boosted backers,

I'm pleased to be bringing you the profile of another veteran of the PumpHouse stage, as well as many other stages: Terry Hooper, who commands the scene as our villain Mr Monet-Saques, or as he is often mispronounced, Moneysacks.
 

Terry trained in Drama at Rose Bruford College and has worked in children’s theatre throughout his career. Beginning in Theatre in Education in the UK, he has since built an extensive career creating and performing work for young audiences both overseas and in Aotearoa.

Since moving to New Zealand, Terry has worked with Whoa Studios, The Glow Show Company, Tim Bray Theatre Company, and co-creates children’s theatre with Act One Productions.

In Old MacDonald's Farm, Terry plays Monet-Saques, the classic pantomime villain — a greedy property developer with no regard for the whenua or anyone who lives there. Terry hopes audiences have lots of fun booing the villain and getting involved in the audience interaction moments, which are his favourite part of the show.

He is thrilled to be back performing at The PumpHouse Theatre alongside such a talented cast and crew.

And that rounds out our cast of actors! They have been an absolute pleasure to work with, and I can wait until you get to see them on stage... less than a month from now! Wow, how the time flies.

Thank you again for your generous support, and see you next time for a profile of our wonderfully talented producer...

Ka kite!

Kia ora lovely backers,

Wowowowow!! What an amazing time we've had since our match donor came along! Thank you so much for jumping onboard with us. We have reached our target, but any funds that make it to us still go towards our NZSL interpreter. Accessibility can be expensive but it is so, so worth it.

And now it is my pleasure to introduce you to the seventh actor and character, Kazim Khan as Tūī, in their own words...

I've always loved performing any way I can. I've been on stages since I was 8, I've written short films, documentaries, music videos, you can catch me at a few of the open mics around Tāmaki Makaurau, and spent all of last year touring a show around Aotearoa. You may have previously seen me in a number (4) of shows for the little ones at The Pumphouse, as an Elf, an adventurer, or a car wash (iykyk). I'm a bit of a jack of all trades. I'm a musician, I dabble in musical theatre, I'll build any Lego or Ikea set, I love knitting and making cocktails for my friends. One way or another I just want to make people smile, and that I get to do that as a crazy bird is one of the many joys of my life.

Tūī is quite high on the energy levels (to put it nicely). Imagine an 8 year old who's just had their sweet treat of the evening, and you can't figure out where they are at any given moment. Tūī loves their friends, Magpie and Kiwi, and just wants to spend time with them. They're a very 'go with the flow' bird, and as long as their antics are taking them somewhere they're happy to follow whatever path is best for everyone. They certainly aren't the smartest or the wisest, but what they have is hope. That hope is misplaced to begin with, but it becomes hope that all the farmyard animals, fur and feathers, can co-exist happily. 

I hope audiences see that when life seems to get you down, you can squawk, tweet, and bellow your way through any bad situation, that standing up for what's right is important, and you can do that without bringing yourself down to a frankly boring level. Most importantly, I want the audience to have as much fun watching Tūī as I get to play this rambunctious, silly, punky, crazy bird.

My favourite Tūī moment is when all the birds invite the animals to seek refuge in the Ngahere. It's the point where Tūī extends a wing of friendship, and forgoes the clique of their friends for the potential of an extended whānau. It's the culmination of the lesson Tūī has to learn, that the needs of the many outweigh the wants of the few, and it's accompanied by my favourite original song in the show. If you want more details, buy a ticket, not much more to say than that.

It's been a pleasure creating this show with all these wonderful characters, fictional and real, and, just like a Tūī, you're going to be making a lot of crazy sounds (of fun) during the show! 

One more actor to introduce you to, and just over a week to go. Thank you again from all of us here at Old MacDonald's Farm!

Ka kite!

Kia ora backers,

It's time you met our lovely Ms Cow, Christine Ball.

My love for theatre began when I was 9 years old. I saw my older brother performing on stage and I knew I wanted to give it a go because it looked like so much fun! I never would have guessed that I would still be performing to this day and would have had the chance to work with amazing creatives over the years. I started off performing in pantomimes which helped with my confidence and showed me how much fun you can have as a performer. I took a bit of a break from acting while in high school but then got back into it in 2018 and I have done many shows since, some of my favourites being Peter Pan in 2018, The Secret Garden in 2019 and The Welkin in 2023. Over the past few years I have not been performing as much and have been having a go at directing. So I am so excited to be a part of the Old MacDonald's Farm production with Pearangi Creative and can't wait for everyone to see this fun show. When I am not rehearsing for a show or watching a theatre show, I am usually enjoying time with family and friends, hanging out at the beach and going to local op shops.

I am very excited to bring Ms Cow to life. Ms Cow lives a peaceful, easy life on the farm with Sheep and Kunekune. Some on the farm might say she's a bit of a princess but to me she's strong minded, and likes the order of things on the farm and likes to know what's going on (even if she can't understand all the time), she cares very much for Old Mac. During this show she is wary of the birds and the changes that are happening on the farm and she struggles a few times with change and her confidence. But as the animals team up with the birds and go on a journey, she really gets a moment to prove herself and show the others that she is strong enough and confident enough to protect her farm and forest whānau when it matters most.

I hope the audience gets so much joy from this amazing show, everyone is bringing so much to these characters. I hope the 60 minutes is full of laughter and fun and the audience aren't afraid to get involved to help the animals and birds and Old MacDonald. I hope they see the importance of friendship and community. And I hope, like Ms Cow, they see that you shouldn't be afraid to help protect those you care about, because if you work together anything is possible. Most importantly - remember your 'moo's'!

I'm so looking forward to you mooing along with her come showtime. Only two more actors to introduce, so stay tuned...

And tonight folks, I have a special request. Can you please share the campaign around tomorrow? Either through sharing the direct link, or sharing our Instagram or Facebook posts would be great. We have a generous anonymous donor about to step in and double any funds donated on Thursday 4th June, up to $500. So for example, if someone donates $10, it will become $20 when our anonymous benefactor steps in. At this late stage in the campaign this is going to make the difference between failure and success for us. Thank you so much!

Ka kite!

Kia ora lovely backers,

I am thrilled to introduced, or perhaps re-introduce to some of you, Tim Raby, our Kunekune pig. Here's Tim in his own words...
 

Though I have been lucky enough to have had a great career for the last 40 years in film and television, my greatest joy and passion is always working on the stage. And children's theatre is no exception. I worked with Tim Bray in the 1990's when he was developing his children's theatre company and have had the pleasure of working with him for many years bringing the joy of theatre to children and their families. I think some of my favourite roles in those days were "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Bad Jelly the Witch" and of course "Santa Claus" (the stunt double). And now, after a wee hiatus, I have the joy of working in this great production.

Kunekune is fun, innocent, full of love and has a great heart even though he loves to be bossy and can be a bit pompous sometimes. I hope my journey as Kunekune will bring the children and their families on a greater adventure and journey. My favourite moment so far, is Kunekune's speech when he calls for his whanau out of the bush to help rescue them. 

I feel so lucky to have lured Tim back to entertaining children at the PumpHouse, and I cannot wait for you all to see what he has done with Kunekune!

See you next time... ka kite!

Kia ora lovely backers,

I am thrilled to introduce you today to my good friend and return Pearangi colleague, Meg Andrews, our Sheep.

I’m Meg! I’ve enjoyed a scrumptious theatre-filled life exploring many varied and exciting roles. I trained professionally at two drama schools in Aotearoa and have spent my life building a wonderfully eclectic career across stage and screen. Highlights have been performing for Tim Bray Theatre Company and Act One Productions, touring with (and then directing for) the Ugly Shakespeare Company, playing roles such as Lady Macbeth, Rita (Eduating Rita), and Ruth Ellis (The Thrill of Love), and directing groundbreaking theatre (truly, groundbreaking is the best word ha!)

My world is consumed by the arts, in the dreamiest way possible! By day I’m immersed in the beautiful chaos of The PumpHouse Theatre as the Marketing and Box Office Manager; and all the bits in between I’m an actor, director, theatre marketer, theatre content creator, and co-own theatre company Chocolate & Carnage with my partner. I’m an advocate for empowering Māori, Queer, and Wāhine led stories, and am a lover of abstract, absurdist and physical theatre.

I’m also absolutely delighted to be working with Pearangi Creative again after directing Lovepuke for them previously, and relishing the opportunity to play a Sheep! There’s clearly a pattern emerging in my casting too… after playing Piri in Piri the Pīwakawaka Saves Christmas in 2025, and previously the Cheshire Cat, I appear to have become someone regularly entrusted with portraying animals! Which is honestly an enormous honour. Animals deserve nuance, dignity, and theatrical gravitas too..!

Sheep (Hipi) is here for a good time! Softness, snacks, and a fun, bouncy existence. She’s often the last one to realise what’s happening around her because she spends so much time wandering around in her own little daydreams: sometimes to her detriment as she is a bit oblivious to the important dramas that are going down! Some of the animals and birds see her as ‘purely decorative’ (she is Old Mac’s prize Sheep after all!), ditzy, or a bit lost, but she has beautiful emotional intelligence.

She’s deeply proud of her wool, even if it’s the thing that makes her stand out the most, and I think she values gentleness in a world that often rewards hardness. She’s also one of the first farm animals willing to unite with the birds for the sake of the farmland and ngahere, because to her the idea of caring for each other just…… makes sense. At her core, she’s a wide-eyed sweetheart who can really do no wrong!

I hope people laugh a lot, and baaaaa a lot. I hope they feel our permission to RIOT! But I also hope that people recognise a little bit of themselves in these characters. If someone sees themselves reflected in Sheep- the one who feels a bit lost, underestimated, dreamy, “too much,” or constantly seen as silly - I hope they leave remembering that softness is not the same thing as “stupidity”. There’s real value in gentle people. Sheep might not always understand what’s going on immediately, but she brings an open heart, always!

My favourite moment is when Sheep realises that the very thing others see as inconvenient or in the way (her wool) becomes one of her greatest strengths. I love that moment because it feels like the heart of the character. The thing that makes you different, or the thing people underestimate you for, can end up being exactly what makes you sooo valuable.

I'm looking forward to you all meeting Meg's Sheep with all her spunk and charm. Stay tuned for the next half of the cast over the next few updates.

Ka kite!

Kia ora backers,

Today I'm looking forward to introducing you to our keen-as-a-bean, over-energetic Magpie, played by Caitlin Symes! Here is Caitlin in her own words...

Kia Ora, and dia dhuit, my name is Caitlin and I’m so excited to be playing the role of Magpie! This will be my first production since drama school, which is super exciting but a little scary… When I’m not on stage or on screen, I work as a drama teacher for primary schools and a party entertainer. My list of hobbies is vast, but at the moment I can usually be found creating cosplays, reading, bouldering, gaming, or at the beach.

Magpie is frankly chaotic. The birds, unlike the farm animals don’t have a clear leader or set regiment, however Magpie loves to believe they are the leader and the one in control. Whenever Magpie takes charge, or speaks up, things usually go terribly. The birds share one brain cell, and Magpie believes they own it, when in reality, it takes turns bouncing between the three birds.

I hope the audience has a fun time, and leaves feeling inspired to stand up for a cause they believe in. The world is pretty terrifying and chaotic right now, but I hope that we, for just 60 minutes can bring them some joy with a show about talking animals and punk rock birds.

My favourite Magpie moment is when they get all the animals stuck in a mess, and then has the audacity to fight literally everyone. There is also a pretty cool part with a phone later in the show that I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with. I’m enjoying finding the character’s physicality and voice, and am SO EXCITED to bring them to life at Pumphouse this July!

I'm exicted too! Magpie does indeed get everyone into a mess and it is a lot of fun. And the phone part is pretty funny, if I say so myself. I'm looking forward to all of you getting to see Magpie and friends very soon.

Stay tuned for more profiles coming soon. Ka kite!

Kia ora backers,

I'm excited to bring you our next profile, Hōrano Te Rama Cam Smith Henare, our Kiwi!

- Tell us a bit about yourself

I've been a theater actor now for 20 years, and pantomime was the first "style" of theater that I performed. I was a pantomime performer for a number of years (roughly 10) before pivoting into Shakespearean acting. I've done a number of professional shows, my favourite by far being "The Crucible" which inspired me to pursue the career I'm now in as a Church Minister and Benedictine Chaplain. I'm currently the Head Chaplain at Kristin School in Albany, the Tikanga Maori Chaplain for Hato Hone St John in the Northern Region, Associate Chaplain at Massey University Northern Campus, and Lead Liturgist for a Church on a Marae up North in Kaiwaka. I have a beautiful wife, a gorgeous dog, and a cat (he's a total himbo). 

In terms of personal life and belief I'm staunchly Maori, I typically live by the principles of te ao Maori as handed to me by my kaumatua me kuia within the Church, and the Church I'm a part of is Te Haahi Mihingare (the Maori Anglican Church). For many years I worked with gangs trying to keep young people out of continuing the cycle, and for the past 5 years I've been with Hato Hone St John with various hats. I am still a volunteer with them as a member of the Major Incident Support Team in the Rodney area, and during my time with them deployed to all major emergencies as a Chaplain (which included the shooting in the CBD, the Feb Floods wherein I was in the water pulling people to safety, and Cyclone Gabriel where I went down to the East Coast to train young people in first aid and give them our best first aid kits). 

I can speak te reo Maori, have a Bachelors in Youth Development and a Masters in Professional Practice wherein my thesis investigated what a Treaty abiding Church Minister would look like in practice. I designed a Treaty Competency model for organisations to practice under the Treaty of Waitangi with ease and comfort. I'm currently in training to join the Priesthood. 

- What's your interpretation of your character?

Kiwi is the more chill of the three birds. Magpie is definitely the busiest, and seems a bit much for kiwi but has a good heart. And Tui is definitely a bit of a beautiful show boat, but nothing beats good ol' plain brown feathers. Kiwi is all in on supporting the birds and their disagreements with the farm animals, but mostly because Kiwi is the one who has probably felt the impacts of things like agriculture the most. In his heart he knows it isn't the farm animals fault, and he also knows Ol' Mac is a good sort. To him Mr Money Sacks is the paramount representation of colonization. Come in, offer a huge sum of money, destroy everything good in the world. Ol' Mac is the opposite of that to kiwi cause he looks after the Ngahere and helps protect the birds. 

Kiwi would ideally have his land back completely, but at this point that would come at a cost he thinks is unfair to the farm animals. Kiwi isn't confrontational by nature, but will back up the birds as/when needed. All he wants to do, though, is chill in the forest and eat grubs. 

- What do you hope the audience gets out of your performance?

Laughter. There's nothing more fulfilling to me as an actor than giving the audience a good laugh, especially child audiences. 

- What's your favourite moment for your character?

Probably when he inspires the unification of the animals. In his heart of hearts its the most ideal outcome possible. Not only because they can then all be friends, but also because it means the other two birds - who can fly everywhere - will stop dragging him into conflict. Kiwi can't fly, and he's pure circle so he can't run far easily, so this will mean he can just take things at his own pace moving forward.

It feels really special to work with Hōrano again after I took such a long break from theatre (we used to do a lot together back in the 2010s). I too am looking forward to you all seeing his favourite moment of Kiwi unifying the animals. It's a really fun moment!

See you again soon for another profile!

Ka kite!

Kia ora lovely backers!

Today I want to tell you all about Liam Kelly a.k.a. our Old MacDonald... and we're lucky enough to have them in their own words!
 

Kia Ora, my name is Liam Kelly. I'm a teacher by day and love working alongside tamariki. I love the connection and joy found through play. At 30 years old I'm a bit more of a ‘Young Mac’ but hey a role is a role! 

Old Mac is your quintessential kiwi farmer. A hard-working, caring and dedicated person. Mac cares about the environment including out native manu. My favourite part of the show is watching Mac stand up against adversity to protect their animals and the ngahere. 

Mac embodies the whakataukī “Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua. Care for the land, care for the people, go forward.”

I hope the audience comes along with a lot of energy, ready to have some fun and play along as the story unfolds. It's going to be a great show for everyone to enjoy. The cast is dynamic and diverse, its great to see that anyone coming along will be able to see themselves within the show! 

Isn't that great? I think Liam exemplifies the gentle and down-to-earth mana of the character of Old Mac, and I can't wait for audiences to meet them.

Also, here's another timely reminder to check out and share our socials: Instagram and Facebook - because our producer Lauren has been doing amazing work with video promos, and there will be more to come! Greatly appreciate it if you can spread the word about us please so we can get this show out there in as many accessible ways as possible.

Next time you'll meet one of our farmyard friends.

Ka kite!

Kia ora folks,

Today I want to tell you about the music in the show. And please also enjoy these shots of our actors from rehearsal. You'll get to meet them all soon in their individual profiles.

It was with much relief that I learned that Old MacDonald had a Farm is well in the public domain! In fact, it has its roots in a folk poem from medieval times, so all good, no copyright to worry about. It would have been pretty weird to have a play called Old MacDonald's Farm without the titular theme song, right?

I knew of course when drafting this play that having the kids sing along to the well-known song would be a major part of the audience participation. This meant it would be a natural way to introduce the characters in the opening scene, and would make sense as a closing song too. There's also a fun little remix we've put on it, but you'll have to come and see the show to hear what I mean. I promise, it's a riot.

Whenever I do music for a play I've written, I'll usually turn to my brother Brent Ahuriri. In our childhoods, we both took the same piano lessons, but it turns out that while I was reading the notes and trying my best to tap away at the keys, he was bypassing that and learning the music itself, letting it settle in his bones. My bro has perfect pitch and can pick up a song just from listening. Not only that but he has the skills to record and produce music. If you check out the Pearangi Creative Instagram account sometime soon, you'll get to hear some of the demo tracks in the background of our videos!

I chucked a bunch of (mostly Kiwi) references at Brent, but key amongst them was the Country Calendar theme tune. You can hear the thread of that in the instrumentation he's got going on in the theme tune. Listen out for that, and any other references you might be able to pick out when you come to see the show!

I'm really looking forward to you hearing the original songs too. I came up with the melody and lyrics, sang them for Brent, and he's busy at work right now arranging them into proper compositions. It's going to be a lot of fun. And I'm sorry, but I have made a bit of an earworm that you will catch if you come to see the show.

While music isn't absolutely vital to a kids show, I've seen its power for myself when I've taken my kids to see shows. My 6 year old sits up straight when music starts playing, eyes sparkling, fully engaged. And in one show I saw last year, my 2 year old rocketed up and danced all through the curtain call song. Music is a transcendent human language. I knew I had to intersperse the action of the play with some fun little bangers that invite dancing and singing along. I hope you agree, when/if you bring some little ones along to the show yourself.

Right, well, this marks the first three days of the campaign! Thank you again for getting in on the ground floor with us. Stay tuned next week for some actor and character profiles, starting with the titular Old MacDonald themself!

See you then!

Kia ora folks,

Today I want to send some love to our stunning venue, the PumpHouse Theatre. It's a cherished fixture for many of us, whether we've been to see shows there, or treaded its boards ourselves. 

We're lucky to have the PumpHouse. It was built in 1905, and when it was slated to be demolished in the 1970s, local performers managed to rescue it from oblivion by turning it into a venue and getting it listed as a Category II Historical Building. Did you know that it has a ghost too? For that story and more, please check out www.pumphouse.co.nz/about

This is not my first time directing at the PumpHouse, though it is my first proper go at the big stage in the main auditorium. I've directed and produced shows in the smaller, more boutique upstairs space, the Coal Bunker Studio (as long time followers of Pearangi Creative may well remember), and I've performed in the amphitheatre. The only time I've done anything on the main stage has been a little thing I whipped together with a few weeks' notice, called Something Old, Something New. The planned programming fell through, so I organised a host of local writers, directors and actors to throw on a mini-festival of short plays. Good fun, but much more low-key than the show I'm staging this time.

The PumpHouse Theatre has a strong reputation for staging quality children's theatre. For many years this was in partnership with Tim Bray, who I wish I had had the chance to work with myself (in fact I almost did have the chance one time, and I regret not taking that chance—but that's a story for another time). Since his passing, many smaller troupes have been popping up to fill the gap. I'm so grateful that The PumpHouse has granted me this opportunity to be a part of that continuing tradition.

And now, you're part of making this opportunity happen too! So thank you again. I'm looking forward to updating you on our progress as we rehearse the play, and eventually stage it from the 7th to 12th of July.

More on our music next time, and then some actor+character profiles!

Ka kite,
Claire

Kia ora folks, and a special welcome to those of you who are with us early enough to see this message directly delivered to your inbox. You're a vital part of making arts happen in your community, so give yourself a big pat on the back for that.

I'm Claire Hiria Dunning, writer and director of Old MacDonald's Farm, and I'll be with you for the duration of this campaign giving you updates every few days. 

You might well ask, how did this play come to be? I saw that the PumpHouse Theatre was putting out a call for locally-sourced children's theatre, especially if it had a strong Kiwi flavour to it. Immediately my head was filled with contrasting images of what we think of as "New Zealand": lush natural beauty, but also mucking in at the farm. What to do with this irreconcilable dichotomy? And was any of this actually ripe ground for a kids show, of all things? I asked myself these questions, but no matter my doubts, I still couldn't quite shake the idea from my head. Somehow, Old MacDonald's Farm would have to become a reality.

I have been on a break from producing theatre for seven years now, in order to have my children and deal with life's many great changes during that period. I was quite honestly feeling a bit trepidatious about even suggesting I come back, but I had the support of a number of people egging me on to get back on the horse as it were. You'll meet some of those lovely folks in the coming updates. I also had a great deal of enthusiasm from the PumpHouse Theatre staff, and from local funding sources too (though as always, not quite enough to get it completely over the line without some help from Boosted too!). So with all of that behind me, I meet you now, the day after our first rehearsal, deep in the thick of putting on a production.

By the way, I did find how to reconcile that dichotomy between farm and forest after all. This story, while being a rollicking good time for kids with big characters, audience participation, song and dance and slapstick comedy galore, is also a layered tale with takeaways for adults too. Two groups of seemingly different beings, after years of mudslinging and skirmishes, band together to recognise their true enemy and defend what really matters. If only we could do that. Am I guilty of writing a fairytale? Maybe, but kids enjoy a bit of moral clarity. And there's plenty of humour to keep you adults satisfied too.

Stay tuned for more information and profiles over the coming month. I'm excited to share the rehearsal process with you, including our design elements as they come together, and the characters and actors you'll see on stage come July.

Take care, and thanks again for your support. Ka kite!