Erin Harrington reviews the Anthony Harper Summer Season of The Complete Voyage of the RMS Titanic (in 90 Minutes), produced by Rollicking Entertainment, performed outdoors at the Archery Lawn, Christchurch Botanic Gardens, Friday 10 January 2025. For more than two decades summer theatre in the Botanic Gardens, supported by MVP sponsors Anthony Harper, has taken advantage of the period when the weather (usually) gets good, and time still feels a bit elastic post-Christmas. It’s an annual treat. This year’s production, The Complete Voyage of the RMS Titanic (in 90 Minutes), offers a heightened, comic remix of James Cameron’s epic 1997 romantic disaster film. Show creators Lizzie Tollemache and Daniel Pengelly, triple threat Darlene Mohekey, and muso Dan Robertson all wear rather charming sailor suits. Aided by a variety of shonky props, costume pieces, and dodgy wigs, the performers intersperse a pretty loose account of the film’s action and characters with conspiracy theories, historical snippets, and comic diversions. Come for the Oscar-winning period romance, stay for the dolphin riding, bickering, pelvic thrusts, and celebrity impersonations. The film might be nearly thirty years old (yikes), but the show carefully pitches its pop culture references and jokes across generations; everyone gets to feel a bit smart, and us 90s teens can relive some key Spice Girls and Steps choreo. It prioritises big characterisation and physical comedy over intricate wordplay, although those interested in bad puns and light smut won’t be disappointed. The performers move throughout the audience area, and up and down the levels of the Chris Reddington’s simple but effective set, which points the bow of the ship straight at us. The production’s layout on the Archery Lawn is also great – preferable, I think, to previous years’ locations elsewhere in the Gardens. It can be a little tricky to maintain audience energy and engagement in outdoor theatre, especially when environmental conditions can be distracting: hospital helicopters, the thudding oonst of a nearby tech-house festival, and the perplexing arrival of a vocal Donald Trump supporter. This production deals with these challenges ably, particularly by wrangling various forms of audience interaction and competition. I love the inclusion of a well-considered and timed game of Titanic bingo that ensures the whole audience is involved in a literally climactic moment, as well as the dramatic arrival of the iceberg itself. And for all the silliness, innuendo and goofing, Tollemache and Pengelly give a genuinely heartfelt account of Jack and Rose’s final moments, and the realities of the disaster, which my picnic buddy and I find quite affecting. Comedy and pathos! The show picks up the energy as it ends by addressing, in a very scientific manner, the film’s key and perhaps only question: whether there was room on the door for both Rose and Jack. This is a well-pitched and satisfying production that leverages the performers’ extensive experience in improv, crowd work, cabaret, and comedy. A snoop and an eavesdrop through the crowd at half time and afterwards indicates it’s landed well with everyone from Titanic stans to newbies. Pack a picnic, get there early, enjoy the gardens and then stick around afterwards for Mowkey’s impeccable rendition of a Supergroove track while the performers hand around the koha bucket. The season runs until 26 January 2025. Big fat donations appreciated.

Erin Harrington reviews the Anthony Harper Summer Season of The Complete Voyage of the RMS Titanic (in 90 Minutes), produced by Rollicking Entertainment, performed outdoors at the Archery Lawn, Christchurch Botanic Gardens, Friday 10 January 2025. And for all the silliness, innuendo and goofing, Tollemache and Pengelly give a genuinely heartfelt account of Jack and […]

Erin Harrington reviews the Anthony Harper Summer Season of The Complete Voyage of the RMS Titanic (in 90 Minutes), produced by Rollicking Entertainment, performed outdoors at the Archery Lawn, Christchurch Botanic Gardens, Friday 10 January 2025.

And for all the silliness, innuendo and goofing, Tollemache and Pengelly give a genuinely heartfelt account of Jack and Rose’s final moments, and the realities of the disaster, which my picnic buddy and I find quite affecting. Comedy and pathos! The show picks up the energy as it ends by addressing, in a very scientific manner, the film’s key and perhaps only question: whether there was room on the door for both Rose and Jack.

The film might be nearly thirty years old (yikes), but the show carefully pitches its pop culture references and jokes across generations; everyone gets to feel a bit smart, and us 90s teens can relive some key Spice Girls and Steps choreo. It prioritises big characterisation and physical comedy over intricate wordplay, although those interested in bad puns and light smut won’t be disappointed. The performers move throughout the audience area, and up and down the levels of the Chris Reddington’s simple but effective set, which points the bow of the ship straight at us. The production’s layout on the Archery Lawn is also great – preferable, I think, to previous years’ locations elsewhere in the Gardens.

It can be a little tricky to maintain audience energy and engagement in outdoor theatre, especially when environmental conditions can be distracting: hospital helicopters, the thudding oonst of a nearby tech-house festival, and the perplexing arrival of a vocal Donald Trump supporter. This production deals with these challenges ably, particularly by wrangling various forms of audience interaction and competition. I love the inclusion of a well-considered and timed game of Titanic bingo that ensures the whole audience is involved in a literally climactic moment, as well as the dramatic arrival of the iceberg itself.

The season runs until 26 January 2025. Big fat donations appreciated.

This is a well-pitched and satisfying production that leverages the performers’ extensive experience in improv, crowd work, cabaret, and comedy. A snoop and an eavesdrop through the crowd at half time and afterwards indicates it’s landed well with everyone from Titanic stans to newbies. Pack a picnic, get there early, enjoy the gardens and then stick around afterwards for Mowkey’s impeccable rendition of a Supergroove track while the performers hand around the koha bucket.

For more than two decades summer theatre in the Botanic Gardens, supported by MVP sponsors Anthony Harper, has taken advantage of the period when the weather (usually) gets good, and time still feels a bit elastic post-Christmas. It’s an annual treat. This year’s production, The Complete Voyage of the RMS Titanic (in 90 Minutes), offers a heightened, comic remix of James Cameron’s epic 1997 romantic disaster film. Show creators Lizzie Tollemache and Daniel Pengelly, triple threat Darlene Mohekey, and muso Dan Robertson all wear rather charming sailor suits. Aided by a variety of shonky props, costume pieces, and dodgy wigs, the performers intersperse a pretty loose account of the film’s action and characters with conspiracy theories, historical snippets, and comic diversions. Come for the Oscar-winning period romance, stay for the dolphin riding, bickering, pelvic thrusts, and celebrity impersonations.