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The Tempest

Bard in the Yard 2016 was The Tempest directed by Emannuel E Garcia. Director’s Notes The Tempest, widely considered to be Shakespeare’s last play and a summary comment on his creative endeavours, is a unique blend of magic and realism.  It is a story about a usurped monarch, slavery, love and redemption, and a brave new world of possibilities.  Our production will emphasise the surreal and dreamlike nature of the drama, as well as its earthiness and ambiguity.  We are fortunate enough to have an experienced cast of Shakespeareans, as well as original live music specifically composed for this Bard in the Yard theatrical experience.

A Little Hotel on the Side

This wonderful French farce was written by Goerge Faydeau & Maurice Desvallières, translated by John Mortimer and our production was directed by John Marwick.

Trials and Tribulations

Trials and Tribulations was a programme of scenes from Shakespeare, loosely based around trials in the various plays. Scenes were chosen and adapted by John Marwick and were directed by a number of people: Lian Butcher, Anna Rodgers, Emannuel E Garcia, John Marwick, Anne Manchester, and Laurence Ward.

As You Like It

Bard in the Yard 2019 was As You Like It. This was the second time the Troupe had produced the play although the previous production had been in 2001 when we still performed in people's back yards with book in hand. The 2019 production was directed by Anne Manchester. Publicity 2019 I'd like to let you know that Eastbourne's Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe is putting on its summer Bard in the Yard Shakespeare production in the first week of March. This year (our 23rd annual Shakespeare production) Anne Manchester is directing As You Like It. She's giving the Bard's romantic comedy a contemporary New Zealand twist. As in

And Then There Were None

Our mid-year production was an Agatha Christie "spine-tingling winter warmer" directed by Lian Butcher. Publicity 2019 A spine-tingling winter warmer Love a good Agatha Christie murder on a Wintery night? Then you are bound to enjoy a spine-chilling evening of live Theatre with a glass of bubbles in hand. Eastbourne's Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe's production of And There Were None Is based on the best-selling murder sales to date. According to director Lian Butcher, it's Christie's masterpiece. with her own stage adaptation of this dark and captivating tale to thrill and enthral audiences, as murder unfolds. The story begins as ten strangers are invited To

A Farmhouse Called Shelter

This is the premiere of a play written by Lower Hutt Playwright MichaelJohn Butcher. The background of the play is the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982. A British paratrooper has been wounded in the Falklands War and is rescued by Costa, an Argentinian deserter, and taken to the farmhouse of Costa's islander girlfriend where they duly attend to him. Then they both realise the awful truth – they can’t hand him over to the Argentinian Army because Costa, the Argentinian, will be shot as a deserter. They can’t hand him over to the English because win or lose the conflict

Othello

Our Bard in the Yard production was Shakespeare's great tragedy of jealousy - Othello. We sneaked in just before the COVID pandemic. Publicity 2020 Love, jealousy, race, revenge and madness -- such are the major themes of Shakespeare';s Othello. And like all of the great tragedies, nothing is quite as black and white as it may seem. How pure was Desdemona? How gullible was Othello? How evil was Iago? Join us for a fast-paced production of a drama that builds towards a passionately explosive conclusion like no other.

SNAP

In September 2020, while the rest of the world suffered through the COVID pandemic, New Zealand for a time was normal and Anne Manchester directed SNAP - a classic whodunit based on the novel “Photo Finish” by Ngaio Marsh – the New Zealand Queen of the genre. An extremely temperamental Callas-style operatic diva, Isabella Sommita, has been hounded around the world by an odious member of the paparazzi. Her manager takes her to a grand but remote lodge on a South Island lake and invites the London-based portrait painter Troy Alleyn (and her detective husband, Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard) to paint her portrait. We

It Runs in the Family

The mid-year play was a farce by Ray Cooney, directed by Florence McFarlane. Publicity 2021 Get ready for your glasses to steam up with laughter: Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe is performing It Runs in the Family by Britain’s master of farce, Ray Cooney. In this larger-than-life tale of comical chaos, Dr Mortimer (a successful neurologist) must fend off a surprise paternity case: whilst keeping his wife out of the picture, and simultaneously giving a prestigious international lecture that may lead to his knighthood - if done properly. This is a farce though, and as Dr Mortimer tries to get himself out of one sticky situation,

The Ghost Train

Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley directed Lian Butcher August 2022 Publicity 2022 The Ghost Train will have you laughing one minute and jumping out of your seat the next. Set in the 1920s we follow a group of stranded passengers stuck overnight on a haunted railway station….what will be their outcome, only time can tell.

Richard III

Muritai School Yard Muritai Road, Eastbourne, Lower Hutt, New Zealand (+64), New Zealand

For Bard in the Yard 2025 Michaeljohn Butcher directed Richard III. Cast Richard the Third (Duke of Gloucester) Colton Stuart Duke of Buckingham Allan Burne Edward the Fourth Philip Rossiter Queen Elizabeth Tilly Potter Lady Anne Lian Butcher Lord Hastings Rhiannon Bertaud-Gander Earl of Richmond Philip Rossiter Prince Edward Timothy Prebble Prince Richard Scout Hunter Sir James Tyrell Philip Rossiter Duke of Clarence Tom Martin Sir Thomas Stanley Tom Martin Lord Rivers Sandra Jean McClean Sir Robert Brakenbury Nicola Tod Sir William Catesby Michaeljohn Butcher Jane Shore Lian Butcher Sir William Brandon Rebecca Brennan Duke of Norfolk Will Clannachan Bishop of Ely David Gledhill Murderers

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