THE
THREEPENNY OPERA
29 MAY-22JUNE, MAIDMENT THEATRE
Michael
will direct and Jennifer will appear as Jenny
in Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera at
the Maidment Theatre from 29 May-22 June 2008,
presented by Silo
Theatre and The
Large Group (Michael and Jennifer's theatre
company) .
"Morality
has no home"
At
its premiere The Threepenny Opera blew Berlin
apart. It was modern, sexy, shot through
with urgent, anti-capitalist politics, full
of hit tunes but with brutally honest and shockingly
street-wise lyrics.
A
noisy hotchpotch of stock operetta characters,
American jazz, John Gay’s eighteenth
century world of thieves, pimps and whores
recast in a mythical Victorian London and all
refracted through the decadent prism of Weimar
cabaret.
Nearly
eighty years on it is still an explosive work. Its
classic status has too often set it at a comfortable
distance, but in the world of sports-shoe sweatshops
and stockpiled food, its questions still roar. Walking
down the street, being asked for money by people
living on the streets or watching cops in their
tight black gloves moving people on, the city
becomes fractured through Brecht’s
prism. In 2008, Brecht’s salient take
on the human condition couldn’t be more necessary
for production.
Regarded
as one of the most influential dramatic works
of the twentieth century (indeed of any century),
its music and songs, including the legendary "Ballad
of Mack the Knife", are seminal to the development
of both musical theatre and jazz itself.
The
Threepenny Opera is vivid, wild, entertaining,
dramatic, dark, funny, violent, sexy, provocative
and very, very human.
The
cast includes Keith Adams, Paul Barrett,
Amanda Billing, Peter Elliott, Delia Hannah,
Waimihi Hotere, Charlie McDermott, Cameron
Rhodes, Roy Snow, Esther Stephens, Elizabeth
Tierney, and Jennifer Ward-Lealand, with musical
direction by Grant Winterburn, movement by
Marianne Schultz, and design by John Verryt,
Elizabeth Whiting, Victoria Ingram, and Jeremy
Fern. Read
the press release here.
CLICK
HERE TO BOOK .
MICHAEL
ON THE PANEL ON NATIONAL RADIO
Michael
was a guest commentator on The Panel on
National Radio on Monday, 5 May 2008. It
is available to listen to over the internet;
click here (it's
near the bottom of the page). Michael's
participation begins at about 17 minutes
into part 1.
JENNIFER
IN THE MAGS
There
is an interview with Jennifer on the back
page of the May 2008 City Mix,
and on page 100 of the May Metro. Both
magazines are on newsstands now.
MICHAEL
AND JENNIFER IN YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR ACTORS EQUITY
Michael
and Jennifer are among several New Zealand
actors promoting New Zealand Actors Equity
in a short video on YouTube. Jennifer
is President of the union. See the
video here.
MICHAEL
ON LIVING GREEN
Michael
was interviewed in the 28 April 2008 New
Zealand Herald in
an article called "The Green Test: Michael
Hurst." It's about
living in an environmentally responsible
way. Click
here for
the article.
MICHAEL
TO DIRECT HANSEL AND
GRETEL FOR NZ OPERA
Michael
will direct the Englebert Humperdinck opera
Hansel and Gretel for New Zealand
Opera. It
will tour throughout New Zealand (Kerikeri,
North Shore, Manukau, Wanganui, Wellington,
Blenheim, Christchurch, Timaru, Invercargill,
Wanaka, Greymouth, Hastings, New Plymouth,
Rotorua, Tauranga) from 29 June-13 August 2008.
From
the press release: "Michael
Hurst is no stranger to New Zealand
audiences. He has brought intelligence,
energy and charisma to classical theatre,
fringe theatre, musicals and cabaret,
movies and television dramas for decades. Now, for the first time, he is directing
opera – The
NBR New Zealand Opera’s 15 centre nationwide
tour of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel
and Gretel.
Hurst
says he is excited about tackling his first
opera but will bring no preconceptions to it. 'While
I’ve done lots of musicals,
I’m
basically coming from an acting perspective,'
he says. 'For
me opera is highly ritualistic drama, with similar
disciplines to really good Shakespeare and classical
drama. The major difference is that
opera is driven by the music. I’ll
be giving the singers a good run for their money – I’ll
be wanting to move them all over the stage,' he
says".
Click
here for more information and to book.
MICHAEL
AND JENNIFER TO HOST NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS
2008 AWARDS FOR ARCHITECTURE GALA DINNER
Michael
and Jennifer will host the 2008 New
Zealand Institute of Architects Awards
for Architecture Gala Dinner at SkyCity
Convention Centre on 24 May 2008.
MICHAEL
TO STAR IN BITCH SLAP
CAST
INCLUDES OTHER HERCULES/XENA ALUMS
Michael
is starring in the American feature film
Bitch Slap playing Gage, a notorious
underworld kingpin. The
film will also feature Michael's Hercules co-star
Kevin Sorbo as Mr. Phoenix (the most secretive
covert agent the world has ever known), with
cameos by
Xena co-stars Lucy Lawless as Mother
Superior and Renee O'Connor as Sister Batrill.
It's
described as an exploitation film--with a healthy
dose of comedy; a "thinking
man’s
throwback to the “B” Movie/ Exploitation
films of the 1950’s-70’s as well
as a loving, sly parody of the same. . . . Bitch
Slap will mix girls, guns, outrageous
action and jaw-dropping visuals with a message… don’t
be naughty! . . . What
makes Bitch Slap different is a complicated
'B' story device that runs throughout the film
to illuminate character, backstory and relationship
histories not previously revealed. . . . Bitch
Slap also
employs a mysterious Female Narrator who comments
periodically on the folly of humanity, the
plight of the human condition and the vagaries
of life and love through quoting the likes
of Dostoevsky, T.S. Eliot, Sun Tzu and even
Buddha. (Bet you never heard THAT in
Jailbait Babysitter!)" Read
the full synopsis here.
The
cast also includes Julia Voth, Erin Cummings,
America Olivo, Ron Melendez, William Gregory
Lee, and Minae Noji.
Stunts
are being coordinated and performed by Xena stunt
double Zoe Bell, and the film is written and
produced by Eric Gruendemann and Rick Jacobson;
Jacobson is also directing. Gruendemann
was Co-Executive Producer of Hercules, Xena, Young
Hercules, Jack of All Trades,
and Cleopatra
2525, and
Jacobson directed two episodes of Hercules and
twelve of Xena. Anticipated release
date: late 2008/early 2009. See the official
site (under development).
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THE
LAST MAGIC SHOW TO
PREMIERE IN NEW ZEALAND
29 MAY 2008
Feature
film The Last Magic Show is
scheduled for release in New
Zealand on 29 May 2008.
Michael plays the magician's
slimy agent Trevor Norton.
See the
film's official website and
our The
Last Magic Show page. |
THE
TATTOOIST TO BE RELEASED
ON DVD IN
THE U.S.
24 JUNE
2008
The
Tattooist will
be released in the
US on region 1 DVD
on 24 June 2008 (now
available for pre-order
on amazon.com). It
is already available
on region 4 DVD in
New Zealand and will
be released on DVD
in Australia on 4 June
2008.
Michael
plays Crash in the New Zealand
film The Tattooist from
Eyeworks Touchdown Productions,
MediaCorp Raintree Productions,
and The New Zealand Film Commission.
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Click here to
go to our Tattooist page
for review, pictures, etc.
Ghost
House Pictures has purchased rights
to a region 1 (US, Canada) dvd
release, which is rumored to be
scheduled for mid-May.
In
June 2008, The
Tattooist will
be one of five films to be shown
at New Zealand's first
solo film festival to be
held in China. See the
New Zealand Herald for
more information. |
WE'RE
HERE TO HELP NOW AVAILABLE ON REGION
4 DVD IN NEW ZEALAND
Michael
plays the major support role of Rodney
Hide in the New Zealand film We're
Here to Help (formerly Be
Very Afraid), directed by Jonathan
Cullinane and produced by South Pacific
Pictures.
FROM
THE PRESS
RELEASE : "We're
Here to Help is a Kafkaesque comedy
about one man's David-and-Goliath battle
with the bureaucratic machine. He
wins, they lose! The film is
based on the real-life story of Christchurch
businessman Dave Henderson whose battle
with the Inland Revenue Department
started after a minor altercation with
an IRD staffer."
Michael
with Rodney Hide |
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FROM
AN ARTICLE
IN THE 30 SEPTEMBER SUNDAY
STAR-TIMES :
"Hide,
now Act leader, was
delighted, then dismayed,
when he learnt he was
to be immortalised
on film by Hurst: 'I
thought, that's good
because everyone will
think I'm hot because
Michael Hurst plays
me. Then I turned up
on the set and he was
in a blobby suit.'" Click here for
the full article. |
THE
CHRISTCHURCH PRESS REVIEW: "Rodney
Hide . . . is the real scene-stealer,
played by an unrecognisable, padded
and balded Michael Hurst. Needless
to say, while Hurst carries off
the role with aplomb, it's not
a good look for him. . .
. the lead acting triptych of Thomson,
Smith and Hurst anchors the film
with first-rate performances."
LUMIERE
READER REVIEW : "The
piece of casting that everyone
will talk about is Michael Hurst
as Rodney Hide . . . this great
actor settles in to the role and
nails Hide’s mannerisms."
FROM
THE FILM'S PRESS
KIT: Michael
talks about taking on the role: "'When
they asked me to play the part, I made
a joke because it was like the filmmakers
thought "Let’s find the
person that looks the least like Rodney
Hide and cast them",' he laughs. Read
Michael's complete interview here.
Producer
Paul Davis talks about the decision
to cast Michael as Rodney Hide: "We
chose Michael Hurst because we wanted
a really good actor who could bring
the right level of energy and a superb
performance to the role." Read
the full description of casting Michael here.
See
the We're
Here to Help website for more information,
trailer, etc.
MURDER ON THE BLADE? NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD
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Michael
played a defence lawyer in the 2003 tv documentary Murder on the Blade?, written, directed, and produced by Keith Hunter, which received a New Zealand Screen Award for Best Documentary 2003/04. It is now available on dvd from Hunter Productions.
See our Murder on the Blade? page for additional information and images. |
TREASURE
ISLAND KIDS II TO BE RELEASED 29 APRIL IN THE US
Michael
as the ferry captain in Treasure
Island Kids: The Monster
of Treasure Island
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Michael
directed the second and third
films in the Treasure Island Kids series, The Monster of Treasure
Island (in which he
also briefly appears) and The Mystery
of Treasure Island.
The Monster of Treasure Island is scheduled to be released on Region I dvd (US and Canada) on 29 April 2008.
The
films are also available
on dvd in Australia and several European
countries.
See
our Treasure Island
Kids page. |
Future
Projects & Appearances
Michael
in