Swashbuckling production delayed by renewed Covid

The production schedule of a tribute to a late Timaru theatre stalwart has again been impacted by Covid-19, forcing its staging out by a week.

Piraticus Rex, a play written by well-known creative Aaron Williams who died on April 26, 2021, aged 48, is a swashbuckling pirate tale about the search for a crown and includes a giant octopus.

Originally planned for last December, the show was postponed to this month because of uncertainty around Covid-19 restrictions at the time.

However, the show, which was meant to start on November 30 and run through to December 7, has been delayed because of an outbreak of Covid among the cast, crew and production team, South Canterbury Drama League president Chris Thomas said.

The show will now be staged on December 7 to 14. ‘‘There seems to be a lot of Covid around at the moment, and the drama league has been hit numerous times, so we’re used to it,’’ Thomas said.

The show is to be the first theatre restaurant the league has run in several years, he said.

‘‘We want to bring that genre of theatre back and celebrate Aaron William’s creativity.’’

Thomas said that said over the past two years the league has had to reschedule, cancel, or restrict audience numbers for about 11 shows.

‘‘It’s very challenging for us and our audience.’’

Piraticus Rex was a ‘‘big production’’, and a great endof-year work do-type show, he said.

He said all affected ticket holders had been contacted.

‘‘There have been disappointed people as lots of people were travelling from other parts of New Zealand to see the show, so it’s frustrating.’’

The show’s cast was a mix of stalwarts and new thespians, Thomas said.

The show is directed by Aaron Segar, with musical director Marlene Hanson.

Figures from the Ministry of Health show Covid cases in South Canterbury, as at 11.59pm on November 27, were at 453.

There had been 25,437 cases in the region in total, with 24,955 recovered.

Clive Scott is an artist who has lived in Winchester and Geraldine for the past 18 years, during which time he has been an enthusiastic member of the Temuka Art Guild, and both the South Canterbury and Ashburton art societies.

He works predominantly in pastels, having discovered the medium six years ago. He describes his works as pastel ‘‘paintings’’, and each possesses a level of detail and depth of form and colour atypical of his media.

Our John (pictured) demonstrates the precision with which Scott applies his pastels, evident in details such as the water glass that reflects the light in the foreground of the picture, or in his sitter’s beard, each wisp of which is