By Pam Valentine
Directed by Penelope Keegan
Season: 3 - 18 March 2017

Cobbler’s Cottage is home to famous author of crime novels, Jack Cameron, and his wife Susie. Flic and her husband Simon, an aspiring crime writer, are eager to rent the cottage. But life isn’t easy for Simon in their new home; severe writer’s block, a monstrous interfering mother-in-law, plus a series of unorthodox and bizarre events all lead to moments of utter confusion.

Theatre, and performance in all its guises both on and offstage, has always been a passion of mine – from a small child “entertaining” my long-suffering parents and their friends, to being “the face” of a TVC for ten years.

As both actor and director, it has always been a pleasure to work at the Dolphin, and this play has been a joy from the first time I read the script. All productions have challenges, the most pertinent being “will I get the cast I want?”. But I was spoilt for choice, and I am genuinely thrilled to have my dream cast. Having worked with all these wonderful people before, I know how hard they work, how good they are at finding their characters and that they do not have egos that get in the way! and they seem to get on with each other extremely well – multiple joys for a director. I must also acknowledge those you do not see, without whom there wouldn’t be a play! So a big thank you to my wonderful crew, whose dedication has made this process as smooth as silk. Without an audience, of course, this would all be a fairly empty exercise, so thank you for coming tonight and I geniunely hope you derive as much pleasure from this gem of a play as I have.

as Susie Cameron

Having recently been on stage for Dolphin’s Oliver Twist, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get straight back on it for Spirit Level, a play I fell in love with the moment I read it  and of course, to work once more with the wonderful Penel and Brian Keegan. Other recent productions I have been in include Looking, both at the Dolphin and Howick Little Theatre, and Seven Year Twitch at Howick. We’ve had a great time putting this together. Hope you enjoy!

as Jack Cameron

It’s great to be back at the Dolphin and part of the awesome team in this play. I last appeared in A Few Good Men, in 2011, and since then have appeared in several Howick Little Theatre productions but have taken some time to return here. I was drawn to Spirit Level’s humour and charm, as well as its celebration of life, and it has been tremendous fun working with the talented cast and crew, especially as a break from my day job  teaching economics to teenagers. I know, how lucky can a man get? Thank you for coming. I really hope you enjoy the play.

as Flic

This is my first time performing at the Dolphin. I have previously acted in Kevin’s Bed (where I first met the lovely Penel and Brian!) and Ladies for Hire at Howick Little Theatre. After a break to have my second child, I am delighted to be stepping back into the theatrical world as Flic. It has been so much fun working with this mad bunch, and we hope you enjoy the show. 

as Simon Willis

Over the past couple of years my theatre addiction has reached critical levels with a run of back-to-back productions leading up to Oliver Twist at the end of last year. Over the Christmas/New Years hiatus I had to resort to black market monologues and soliloquies to quell the withdrawal symptoms. Now I am back in Spirit Level to feed the addiction!

as Mark Webster

Born a significant period of time ago to parents, I am delighted to be treading the boards after a 20-year absence. I had a brief stint with the Ecuadorean Rhythmic Gymnastic team in the late 80s, but I can now be found terrorising my colleagues during the day, and by night dreaming of new ways to pickle things in a jar. 
My performance this season is brought you by the letter K and the number 4. 
I’d like to thank my cast-mates and the whole, wonderful team involved with this production for making me feel welcome and at home. But not Brian.

as Guardian Angel

Jocelyn fell in love with theatre and all its glories at a very early age. She worked with Wellington Repertory Society in The Blue Bird and Peter Pan, my first adult role with them being Kitty in Charley’s Aunt – all a very long time ago. I hold an LTCL and Diploma in Drama (Auck), and taught speech and drama for many years. I lived in London for several years and worked with Comedy Club of Kensington – but that’s another story! More recently I have worked with Company Theatre, Mairangi Players, Torbay Theatre, Pilgrim Players and Ellerslie Theatrical Society, both on and offstage. My favourite roles include Mrs Bennet, Lady Bracknell and Lady Mabel Crosswaite.

as Marcia
I have been involved in theatre in Auckland for over 40 years, appearing in numerous plays and musicals at Ellerslie Theatrical Society, Dolphin Theatre, The Playhouse, Titirangi, Waitemata and Waiatarua.
In 2016, I took part in Waiting in the Wings at Ellerslie, and the Wyrd Sisters for Titirangi, and also directed The Pin-up Boys at Ellerslie. I last performed at the Dolphin in 2015 in Closure, for which I won Best Supporting Actress.