• Miriama bursting through an artwork of a Midsummer Night's Dream
 

Lysander’s Aunty

— or A Most Rageful Irreverent Comedy Concerning An Offstage Character From A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Jumping from Athens to Aotearoa, with a cast of New Zealand’s finest comic talent, Lysander’s Aunty is a wild ride of magic and mutiny.

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, young lovers Lysander and Hermia defy the Duke by eloping to an aunt’s house in the woods. But who is this law-snubbing, free-loving aunty? What’s she doing in the bush? And what happens when the law comes knocking at her door?

From the makers of The Bookbinder, and in the tradition of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, comes a riotous reworking of Shakespeare’s most popular play that takes a cannon to the canon.

Lysander's Aunty was originally commissioned by The Court Theatre, in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) and developed with the support of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Auckland Theatre Company and Auckland Arts Festival.

 

SEASON CANCELLED

Lysander’s Aunty was commissioned by the Court Theatre in Ōtautahi / Christchurch and set to premiere in March 2020 until the lockdown forced its cancellation just four days out from opening.

A new production was due to premiere in 2022 with Aotearoa New Zealand Festival, Auckland Arts Festival, and Auckland Theatre Company until this too was forced to cancel due to lockdown.

Cast

Miriama McDowell

Aunty

Miriama McDowell

Eli Matthewson

Ricky

Eli Matthewson

Anya Tate Manning

Dogberry

Anya Tate-Manning

Stephen Lovatt

Egeus

Stephen Lovatt

Sepe Mua'au

Lysander

Sepe Mua’au

Mirabai Pease

Hermia

Mirabai Pease

Andrew Paterson

Demetrius

Andrew Paterson

Brynley Stent

Helena

Brynley Stent

Claire Chitham

Hippolyta

Claire Chitham

Jono Martin

Theseus

Jono Martin

Lahleina Feaunati

Chorus

Lahleina Feaunati

Louise Jiang

Chorus

Louise Jiang

Madison Wade

Chorus

Madison Wade

Rosalind Lay-Yazdani

Chorus

Rosalind Lay-Yazdani

 
 


Crew

 
Hannah Smith

Director

Hannah Smith

Ralph McCubbin Howell

Writer

Ralph McCubbin Howell

 
Shane Bosher

Producer

Shane Bosher (Brilliant Adventures)

Dan Williams

Set Designer

Dan Williams

Eden Mulholland

Composition & Sound Designer

Eden Mulholland

Elizabeth Whiting

Costume Designer

Elizabeth Whiting

Sean Lynch

Lighting Designer

Sean Lynch

Dan Bain

Movement / Fight Director

Dan Bain

Brigid Costello

Choreographer

Brigid Costello

Tim Hamilton

AV Designer

Tim Hamilton

 

Lysander’s Aunty was commissioned by The Court Theatre in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) and rehearsed in early 2020 with the following cast and crew. We were just four days out from opening when the pandemic forced the season’s cancellation.


Cast (Court Theatre rehearsals)

Aunty

Julie Edwards

Ricky

Trubie Dylan-Smith

Dogberry

Hannah Kelly

Lysander

Manuel Solomon

Hermia

Millie Hanford

Demetrius

Chris Symon

Helena

Elle Wootton

Hippolyta

Hillary Moulder

Theseus

Gregory Cooper

Egeus

Adam Brookfield

Old White Men

Emily-Jane Cull
Lauren Heaysman
Paris Thornley
Stella Cheersmith

 


Crew (Court Theatre rehearsals)

Director

Dan Bain

Assistant Director

Hannah Smith

Set Designer

Harold Moot

Costume Designer

Hayley Douglas

Lighting Designer

Giles Tanner

Composer & Sound Designer

Hamish Oliver

Prop Designer

Julian Southgate

Stage Manager

Mandy Perry

 
 
Colourful graphic of Aunty drinking beer, holding a blowtorch and stepping on a donkey head

Image: William Duignan

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