Cow & Fold by Jo Randerson
Directed by Gaye Poole
1 - 5 May 2012
COW
Ever so slightly surreal; a wry look at the New Zealand family and the pressures of conformist society.
Beth's heart is set on making a cow out of leaves, but with a father who believes he is a cat and several opinionated interlopers will she realise her dream?
FOLD
Friends without benefits. A play about parties, presents, pegs and clean underwear.
Witty, grotesque, refreshing and chilling; a mockery of pretension, self-obsession and self-delusion.
Cow & Fold: refreshing, absurd, surreal, impish, irreverent, grotesque, puzzling and hilarious in turn.
About the Playwright
Jo Randerson became involved as a writer, director and performer in theatre productions for the Victoria University Student Drama Club. She participated in Bill Manhire's Creative Writing course at Victoria University in 1997 where she won the Prize for Best Portfolio. Jo has since gone on to write, produce and perform in productions that have toured the world.
Since the late 1990s Jo Randerson has developed a sparkling reputation in New Zealand as one of our most unique and prolific theatre practitioners, winning the 1997 Bruce Mason Award for her first play Fold and the 2008 Arts Foundation New Generation Award.
Her writing, in different genres, has earned her writing fellowships: the Robert Burns Fellow (Dunedin) and the Winston Churchill Fellow (Russia).
Jo's plays include Fold, Cow, The Lead Wait, Unforgiven Harvest and Good Night - the End, and her most recent theatrical ventures Hullapolloi (Wellington, Dunedin, Nelson, Auckland, 2011), a collaboration with choreographer Kate McIntosh; and Yo Future for Whitireia New Zealand's Long Cloud Youth Theatre (Wellington, 2011)
Creative Team & Crew
Artistic Director: Gaye Poole
Production Manager: Gaye Poole
Stage Manager: Ngaia Mason
Assistant Stage Manager: Alan Jones
Lighting Operation: Eliot Jessep
Sound Operation: Will Collin and Jeremy Tomkins
Marketing Manager: Brendan Theodore
Design concept: Gaye Poole
Props: Natalie Foster
Costume & Props Co-ordination: Gaye Poole
Graphic Design: Brendan West
Front of house Co-ordinator: Katey Good
Music Consultant & Pianist: Adam Maha
Website manager: Brendan Theodore
Production Photography: Evan Davis
Videography: Hannah West
Cast - Cow
Beth: Kendall Spence
Larry: Conor Maxwell
Mum: Stephanie Christian
Dad: Brendan West
Gerry: Dave Taylor
Louisa: Natalie Foster
American: Brendan Theodore
Girl: Tendai Sithole
Policeman: Jeremy Tomkins
Collector: Katey Good
Sick Cow: Michael Gaastra
Additional Cows: Ensemble
Cast - Fold
Karen: Sad’e Peel
Pascall: Will Collin
Eileen: Natalie Foster
Roger: Brendan West
John: Michael Gaastra
Daughter: Tendai Sithole
Glitter Man: Michael Potts
Television: Brendan Theodore
Dancers: Ensemble
Reviews
Bovine absurdism and a tragedy of manners - Gail Pittaway, Waikato Times