Love and marriage at the Court

Press, 9 May 1984, Page 19

Love and marriage at the Court

“The Perfectionist,” a play about modem love and marriage, will open in the Court Studio this week-end. The production will see some faces fairly new to the Court. For Ms Elizabeth O’Connor, the theatre’s trainee director, “The Perfectionist” will be her first effort at directing a major bill. She has previously been involved with the Court’s Theatre in Education programme. The play is a comedy about an Australian couple in Denmark, who hire a Danish babysitter, Eric Larson (Alastair Browning), who has an affair with the wife, Barbara (Janet Fisher). The husband, Stewart, is played by Geoffrey Clendon, whose first contract with the Court was the recent production of “A Man for All Seasons.” Mr Clendon has worked extensively in Australian television and theatre and in film. Stewart’s mother is played by a local actress, June Harvest, who has come to the Court for the production. She has been involved for many years

with community theatre in Christchurch. For Alastair Browning,' the Court Theatre has been a “home base” for the past three years. He came to the' theatre in 1980 from the Mercury in Auckland, where he completed his training. He has had several different contracts of a few months at the Court, interspersed with television in Australia and New Zealand and film. A highlight for Mr Browning during his career as an actor was his work in “Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence,” a feature film directed by Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Oshima. He spent six weeks on the set in Rarotonga early last year, working with, among others, David Bowie and Tom Conti. “The best thing for me was working with Tom Conti,” said Mr Browning. “He was a very, very good actor.” One thing he noticed about the direction of the film was that he was simply expected to be able to perform. “They just accepted that I could do it, and expected

me to — it was terrifying at first,” he said. Mr Browning came back to New Zealand after the shooting of the film, then was flown to London for the premiere last year. “I think th*, whole experience of those six weeks will remain a highlight in my mind,” he said. “The atmosphere was great, the people were so friendly, and the setting was idyllic.” While in London, Mr Browning tried to find a job, but found he was unable to as he did not have British nationality. “I think that is wrong, especially as actors from overseas can get jobs here in New Zealand.” Mr Browning will be seen on television some time during the next couple of years bn the Australian soap “The Sullivans.” He worked for a few months in the show, as a newsreel cameraman who became a radio announcer and was engaged to Kitty Sullivan for a while. It was his first experience with television and an eye-opener for Mr Browning.

“I saw the advantages and disadvantages of the ‘star system’ which has been

built by Australian television.” The stars of “The Sulli-

vans” had become Australia’s own “royal family,” he said. “The public there are slavishly devoted to their stars and this creates problems for the actors.” He saw people beginning to believe in their own publicity and to rely on that rather than the strength of their own work. “If I ever become like that I may as well give up being an actor,” he said. One advantage Australian television had over New Zealand television was the competition between channels. Mr Browning is a firm believer in a third channel for New Zealand television. “The competition creates a higher quality of work, and a maturity, which New Zealand television simply does not have.” Although there are a lot of soap operas and game shows on television in both countries, Mr Browning believes they should continue. “Sure, they are terrible shows, but they do at least provide the bread and butter work for actors, as well as money to produce good dramas,” he said.