Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
‘EQ f***ing C’ – A Revenge Comedy in the making
In this upcoming UC Connect public lecture, University of Canterbury academic, playwright and director Dr Christina Stachurski will discuss the process of researching, planning and writing a comedy especially for (and of) our city.
“For a play to work, its main character has to have a problem to solve, a goal to achieve, or a mission to accomplish. After the earthquakes, Christchurch people had a simple goal – to get their houses fixed or rebuilt. Yet bureaucratic bungling, shysters and dodgy agendas created a widespread living nightmare,” Dr Stachurski says.
“Reputable studies show that laughter improves mental health. An international expert, John Vorhaus, tells us that good comedy is based on the truth and pain of the audience’s shared experience. In that case, post-earthquake Christchurch has to be prime material for a play to make you scream with laughter and feel a lot better afterwards.”
An award-winning playwright and theatre director, Dr Stachurski researches and teaches Drama and Creative Writing in UC’s English Department. Her first play, Hot Stuff, won the Aoraki Festival Play Writing Award in 1996. Her second play, Domestic Blitz, was selected for the Adam Play Reading Series at Downstage Theatre (2004), followed by SKOOL! for the Aotearoa Playwrights' Conference (2006), and Pitcairn for Auckland Theatre Company’s The Next Stage in 2013.
After growing up in a rugby-mad small town in Taranaki, Christina Stachurski experienced culture-shock amongst the polite middle classes at the University of Canterbury. This experience started her thinking about novels and plays as social and cultural guidebooks as much as stories. Later, she completed MA and PhD degrees exploring ethnicity, gender, sex and violence in New Zealand literature. Her book, Reading Pakeha (Rodopi 2004), was published in New York and Amsterdam.
UC Connect public lecture: ‘EQ f***ing C’ – A Revenge Comedy in the making, 7pm on 14 September at the University of Canterbury, Central Theatre Block.
Register to attend at: www.canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect
Gordon Campbell: On What’s Wrong With The Treaty Principles Bill
Te Pāti Māori: Government’s First Year A ‘Catastrophe For Māori’
Department Of Internal Affairs: Samoan Citizenship Bill Passes Into Law
NZ National Party: National Acknowledges The Passing Of Hon Nikki Kaye
Mana Mokopuna: Children And Young People Share Vital Insights On Healing From Family Violence And Sexual Violence In New Report
NZ Government: PM Marks One Year In Government
Helen Clark Foundation: Helen Clark Foundation Calls For Political Action To Reduce The Prevalence Of Junk Food And Improve Health Outcomes
