A scene from End of the Golden Weather
Performed by Stephen Lovatt

At 10.00am, Christmas Day, Thursday 25 December 2008 (Performance lasts about 30 minutes)

At Takapuna Beach Reserve, North Shore City, Auckland, New Zealand.

Once again at 10am on Christmas Day at Takapuna Beach Reserve, there will be a free presentation of a scene from Bruce Mason’s End of the Golden Weather.

The scene is set in the 1930s on Takapuna Beach (Te Parenga in the play) on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day—which is why it is appropriate to have the performance there. It covers the excitement and tension of small boys as they wait for Christmas Day, the Christmas Day Church service, present-giving, and Christmas dinner.
This will be the third year in a row the event will take place, going some way towards organiser Roger Hall’s ambition to see it firmly established as an annual event.
In 2006, a hundred people turned up; last year it was 300.

“Luckily, Creative New Zealand and North Shore City Council have been very supportive.”
“One of the points of doing this is to commemorate Bruce Mason, our pioneer playwright, who was brought up in a house on Takapuna Beach. But also, it’s a lovely event as people gather and meet up with friends and exchange Christmas greetings".

The performer for the third year is Stephen Lovatt, who has performed the whole solo show many times. To many viewers, Stephen is well known as Max Hoyland from Neighbours. Each time he has generously donated the offered fee to Oxfam.

If weather conditions are bad, then it will be held in the nearby War Memorial community Hall on The Strand, right by the library.

Contact: Roger Hall 484-0007
roger.h@xtra.co.nz