Bard Day's Night
(previously Frequently Asked Questions)

21-26 May 2012:  The Basement, Auckland
5-7 July 2012:  Fuel Festival, Hamilton
10-21 July 2012: The Street Theatre, Canberra, Australia

The show is over, the audience has left, and Hamlet comes home to his dingy flat to face the final curtain.  But can he make up his mind to do it?  Hilarity follows when Macbeth, King Lear, and Othello arrive to help the hapless prince decide whether or not to be or not to be... or not.

Bard Day's Night sees Michael join forces with two of New Zealand's freshest writing talents for an outrageous and at times profound view into one actor's attempt at self destruction.

Michael's debut solo performance melds his mastery of the Shakespearean form with an irreverant comic edge.

BARD DAY's NIGHT: absurdity, schizophrenia and blank verse

Click here to book in Auckland.
Click here to book in Hamilton (as Frequently Asked Questions).
Click here to book in Canberra (as Frequently Asked Questions).

Reviews

Dominion Post:  " . . . the fourth and funniest and most outrageous Skahespearean offering of the festival . . . In a comic tour de force Michael Hurst plays all the roles with relish, sending up styles of Shakespearean acting, poking fun at the language, and providing some gloriously funny physical comedy when Hamlet and Macbeth fight each other.  But miracuously he can also turn the comedy on a sixpence and change the mood almost without one being aware that he is doing so as he releases the emotional power of the poetry in some of the most famous speeches in the English language".

Theatreview: ". . . something more than watching an excellent actor at work.  And so Hurst is, an excellent actor, but to a purpose greater than a mere display of talent.  Beyond the metaphysical swirls the physical highlight in the fight he manifests between Hamlet and Macbeth.  That it is not staged to elicit applause (although we want to applaud) confirms there is more to the purpose".

Watch the trailer:

Michael was the subject of the feature interview on Sunday Morning with Chris Laidlaw on Radio New Zealand National on 19 February, talking about his life and career, and Frequently Asked Questions.

Natalie Medlock and Dan Musgrove talked with Eva Radich on Upbeat on Radio New Zealand Concert on 20 February.  They talked about Frequently Asked Questions, which they developed with Michael over the past two years--specifically where the idea originated, how the show developed, and their relationship with Michael while doing it.

7-30 June 2012: Christopher in Tribes

Michael will play Christopher in Nina Raines' Tribes for Silo Theatre, 8-30 June 2012 at Maidment Theatre.  Also featuring Jodie Hillock, Emmett Skilton, Fern Sutherland, Leon Wadham, and Catherine Wilkin; directed by Shane Bosher.

Click here for more info, and here to book.

From the press release:

"The importance of those who are deaf having their own language and identity comes under the microscope as we watch the central character (who is deaf) struggle with the prejudices and social mores of his wonderfully dysfunctional contemporaty family unit.

"A truly unique play, blending spoken word, sign language and surtitling into its framework, Tribes will leave audiences speechless.  Filled with the sort of one-liners you wish you were quick enough to come up with in real life, this play oozes intelligence, robust humour and profound pathos".

"Funny and moving--this is as good as theatre gets.  Don't miss it" - The Australian

"...the best-written, best-plotted, deepest, most daring--and funniest--new play in recent years" - The Wall Street Journal