A gateway to the present _{by Madelaine Empson}

A perfectly pitched family drama will bring love, laughter, loss, and live music into the light at Circa Theatre from the 5^th of October to the 2^nd of November. Written by William Duignan and directed by his husband Andrew Paterson, the premiere season of and the Lochburns follows celebrated pianist Gus Lochburn and his three grown children, who have the weekend to pack up his life, their childhood, and the memories of their mother into neat boxes as he is moved into a care home.  

Duignan says the play has been in development for many years, beginning as a twinkle in his eye from 2018 and taking shape as a first draft while he was performing in Once at The Court Theatre in 2021.

“I’d stumbled on a video of a man somewhere in the US, living with Alzheimer’s disease. In the video, someone plays him a familiar song from his younger days, and in what seemed like a moment, he transformed back into himself, talking and laughing. It was so moving. How music could act like this ‘gateway’ to the present. Utterly amazing”, the playwright says.

“My grandmother and great aunty developed Alzheimer’s while I was a teenager, so I’ve seen the process with my own eyes. And I wanted to show a family, like the one I grew up with, on stage, learning to live with a loved one suffering with the disease. Though grief and challenge is all around, there’s laughter and joy between the tears and tantrums.”

With help from Paterson to craft the first draft into the play we’ll see onstage, which was shortlisted for the Playmarket Adam NZ Play Award in 2022, Duignan says a team of “absolute titans of our industry” have brought his imaginary musical family to life. He could not be prouder or more excited.

“Seeing the words and music I’ve been sitting with for so long is beyond mind-blowing. I really wanted the family in the play to sound like the kind of family that I grew up with, fully loving, fully challenging, swimming in music, fights, choreographed dances, squabbles, and tears. The actors we have performing (Kali Kopae, Peter Hambleton, Simon Leary, Stella Reid, Hannah Kelly, Jthan Morgan), laughing like a family, singing like a family, fighting like a family, an endless well of emotion and connection, I’m pinching myself.”

Capped by designer Meg Rollandi, this band of award-winning theatremakers will deliver a touching world premiere that’s funny, poignant, and not to be missed – one that Duignan hopes will impart a feeling of acceptance.

“As I connect with people, talking about the themes of this play, I wasn’t expecting how dementia and Alzheimer’s had touched so many of us. Hearing their stories of their parents or grandparents, their siblings and friends, I feel so overwhelmed and grateful that this play can serve as a doorway for connection and conversation.”