Special Guest Star A Drawcard For ANZAC Concert

Popular former TVNZ newsreader Dougal Stevenson will be playing a major part in this year’s ANZAC concerts in Queenstown. The television star, who was a fixture on New Zealand television screens in the 1970s and 1980s is coming to Queenstown to take on the role of a BBC newsreader in the World War Two themed show, which is being staged as a radio show performed in front of a live studio audience.

This is the second time the Queenstown RSA has staged a specially commissioned concert for ANZAC day. The inaugural concert in 2010 was a sell-out and the decision was made to hold a concert every two years, increasing the number of performances to cater for demand.

Directed and written by Jo Blick, the show, called “Music While You Work” after the popular war-time BBC radio programme, will feature a large cast of local performers as well as the district’s very own big band, the Queenstown Jazz Orchestra.

“ We’re giving the audience a look at what life was like during wartime for those who were on the home front and had to deal with things like rationing, evacuations and air raids. “ Ms Blick said.

“We’re using songs of the era from artists like Glen Miller and The Andrews Sisters to set the scene and the history will be explained by the use of regular updates from the newsroom, many of which are transcripts of actual BBC news bulletins of the time.”

Ms Blick said the breadth of the subject had made putting the show together a challenging task.

“It’s quite a job to condense six years of history into an hour and a half and there was also a wealth of fantastic songs to choose from but I think we’ve put together a show that will make audiences laugh and cry as well as sing along and even , in some places, dance along if they want to. It’s a great piece of entertainment that should appeal to people of all ages.”

The show is a fundraiser for the Memorial Hall upgrade and Ms Blick said it was very appropriate that a show that was a celebration of community spirit was supporting a community asset.

“We couldn’t put on this show without substantial help from the community. The Hilton has provided us with free accommodation for Dougal Stevenson. Remarkable Audio is helping out with sound. Showbiz Queenstown have helped out with set building and provided lights. The Queenstown RSA has provided enormous help in terms of manpower for staffing the venue and selling tickets. Fabric Collections has helped with material for the set. Creative Queenstown and the Central Lakes Trust have provided funding and we’ve also received sponsorship from World Travellers and More FM. Added to that the entire cast and crew including Dougal Stevenson are working for free ensuring that all money raised goes directly to the Memorial Hall Trust rather than underwriting the cost of the show. That’s a great achievement.”

The cast of “Music While You Work includes:

Steve Wilde, Eammon McNicholas, Marty Newell, Margaret O’Hanlon, Jo Blick, Alex Derbie, Andrew Edgar,Tiffany Menzies, Lee van der Schuit, Charlotte Graf, Richard Stringer, Peter Waaka, Rachael Simons-Gerard and special guest artist Dougal Stevenson.

“Music While You Work” will be staged at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday 25 April at the Memorial Hall Queenstown. Doors open half an hour before showtime and there will be a cash bar open at both performances.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children and $40 for families (2 adults and up to three children).

Tickets are on sale at the Queenstown iSite in the Clocktower building on the corner of Shotover and Camp Streets. RSA members are also selling tickets – watch for them on the street and at New World on Friday 20 and Saturday 22 April. You can also book tickets by calling Dave Geddes on 0274 358 398 or Mary Ann on 027 2304 543. Door sales will be available one hour before performance time. All tickets are cash sales only.