For the last three months on most Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, a group of Shore locals and many from further afield have been meeting in Forrest Hill to argue about forms that need filling in, office decor options and who's paid their social club subs. These are not their own workplace grievances. They're Sir Roger Hall's.
On 18 September, the fiftieth-anniversary production of 'Glide Time' opens at The PumpHouse Theatre in Takapuna, half a century after its initial Wellington run, and dozens of productions since then. The play is one of the most significant pieces of New Zealand theatre history. At the time, it broke with a tradition of Kiwi playwrights creating New Zealand historical work, or work that still looked to 'Mother England'. But Sir Roger wrote something different and previously unseen: a contemporary Kiwi play that brilliantly satirised the very relatable public service of the late seventies. It then took on a life of its own in the must-see weekly sitcom, 'Gliding On' through the early eighties.
The play unfolds entirely within the stores branch of an unnamed government department, following a handful of public servants through the daily grind of memos, tea breaks and time sheets. There's Jim, thirty years into the job and beginning to wonder what it was all for. Beryl, underestimated by everyone around her, and content with far less than she deserves. John, allergic to hard work and quick with a line. Hugh, a homesick immigrant who is able to see the office and 1970s Wellington for what it is. And Michael, the wide-eyed teenager, just trying to survive his first weeks. Little happens, on paper. But the boss’s promotion to another department has a few of the characters keeping their eyes on the newly vacant prize.
"I feel a huge responsibility with this one," says director Vikki Cottingham. "Not only is it by one of my favourite playwrights, but it is also a piece of New Zealand history. It needs to be honoured and celebrated, because it's such a part of us."
That responsibility shows itself in the rehearsal room. Vikki describes the first read-through as the moment the whole project clicked into place. "Hearing these words leap off the page reminded me just how good Sir Roger is at writing dialogue that makes it easy for us Kiwis to laugh at ourselves," she says. "Fifty years on, the jokes still land!" Phoenix Theatre has made a conscious decision to honour Sir Roger's request in the script that the play remain authentically set in 1976, highlighting just how different some attitudes were, compared to now. “We’re not about to erase history, and that in itself will add a whole new layer of laughs,” Vikki adds.
Getting comedy right is a serious business; a single scene can be run a dozen times before a line finally earns the laugh Sir Roger built into it in 1976. Cast members agree there's been a lot of care and attention put into preparing 'Glide Time' to be stage-ready. "It's a nostalgia kick," says John Palmer, who plays Jim, the weary, 30-year public servant. "Comedy that shows us who we were, and unhappily, who a lot of people still are." Getting that balance right, between the funny and the faintly sad underneath it, has been a key focus in rehearsals.
Much of that rehearsal space is filled with people who don't have to travel far to get there. Jimmy Carrick, Albie Smith, Chris Smith, and Zac Russell, who play Hugh, the Boss, Wally and John respectively, are all North Shore locals, as are a good number of the crew working hard behind the scenes on set, costume and production.
Chris Smith, who plays the clipboard-wielding Wally, spent 52 years working in shipping before taking up acting in 2020, which gives him a particular authority over his character that no amount of rehearsal can manufacture. "I actually lived this," he laughs. "At rehearsals, I'm surrounded by people I actually worked with. When the audience comes into the theatre, they'll walk through a time warp, and it will be 1976 all over again. Big wide trousers, and lapels on the suits like Boeing 707 wings!"
Zac Russell, who plays the sharp-tongued John, is content selling the show on more than its literary merits alone. "People should come because I'm in it," he says with deadpan delivery, before adding, "Also, it's going to be an amazing show." There's a cheeky glint in his eye that’s hard to distinguish from his character's delivery of numerous zingers. Albie Smith, who plays the fussy, anxious Boss, keeps things short and sweet, knowing these characters were compulsory early '80s TV viewing in many homes: "Do you remember 'Gliding On'? It's basically that, but a play. Very well written. Amazing cast."
The passion is obvious. Everybody happily volunteers their time, turning up three nights a week for the last three months, fitting rehearsals around day jobs and family life, which is par for the course of community theatre everywhere – community being the keyword that any Phoenix Theatre member is quick to stress.
Director Vikki is under no illusion about the pressure of staging a play this well-loved for an audience that includes people who remember it fondly, something Sir Roger has voiced too. "My only apprehension is whether a contemporary audience will find it relevant or amusing," he says. However, if the crowd's reaction at a recent sold-out preview evening at The PumpHouse is anything to go by, held on the night of the play's actual fiftieth anniversary, entertainment and laughter won't be a problem. In an election year when public service cuts have made headlines, the relevance of a public service play may be greater than ever.
With the set built, the costumes finished, and the team now deep into applying the finishing touches, all that's left is the audience, and a quick browse on The PumpHouse website indicates tickets are selling like hotcakes. Fifty years after Wellington audiences started laughing from the opening line, Phoenix Theatre is betting the North Shore will do exactly the same.
'Glide Time' opens at The PumpHouse Theatre, Takapuna on 18 September and runs through to 2 October.
Book now to avoid disappointment at pumphouse.co.nz/glide
