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The Fall of the House of Usher

The end of year production in 2020 was The Fall of the House of Usher. It was adapted for the stage by Michaeljohn Butcher from Edgar Allan Poe's novel and directed by Emanuel E Garcia. Edgar Allan Poe’s spine chiller. “She has been put living into the tomb” Edgar Allan Poe was the great macabre story writer of his day, and this playwright Michaeljohn Butcher's adaptation of his masterpiece, 'The Fall of the House of Usher', renders his eerie, powerful, chilling and poetic insights into a compelling theatrical experience. When Jonathan Tiergarten arrives at the decaying house, summoned by his childhood friend Roderick Usher, he discovers

The Winter’s Tale

As its 25th annual Shakespeare production the Troupe presented The Winter's Tale for the second time in February / March 2021 (the first production was 21 years earlier). It was directed jointly by John Marwick and Elspeth Cotsilinis. Allen Burne won an Antoinnette Award for Excellence in Acting in the Wellington District Theatre Federation's Full Length Play competition. Watch a recording of this production on YouTube Publicity 2021 Eastbourne’s prize-winning Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe celebrates 25 years of Shakespeare with a Bard in the Yard outdoor production of his magical, romantic, tragi-comedy The Winter’s Tale. A fairy tale of how love, laughter, music and dance

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,

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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

Bard in the Yard 2022 was A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Anne Manchester. Watch a recording of this production on YouTube Publicity 2022 A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare c. 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in

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.

Henry IV, Part 1 – William Shakespeare

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

Our Bard in the Yard production for 2023 was Henry IV, Part 1 - directed by Tanya Piejus. The play was presented with a Star Wars theme. Publicity 2023 Captain Henry Bullingbrook of the USS Britannia faces a new challenge as an unprecedented alliance of Romulans, Klingons and Andorians is forming, bent on taking control of the planet Muritaria. Meanwhile, Henry's daughter is hanging with a dodgy crowd from Engineering, pranking the debauched Lieutenant Falstaff and generally behaving in ways unworthy of a future starship commander, unlike the Romulan Hotspur who is seemingly everyone's idea of an up-and-coming leader. Star Trek meets Shakespeare in Eastbourne

At The Bay

In July 2023 Troupe members, under the direction of Anne Manchester, helped create a short film. Click here to see this film Publicity 2023 Katherine Mansfield’s greatest story, At the Bay, is celebrated in a short photographic tribute, combining historical images and selected episodes from the story. The film is a new production by local photographer Simon Hoyle and includes actors from Eastbourne’s Butterfly Creek Theatre Group. Directed and narrated by Anne Manchester, it also draws on many contemporary images of the setting for At the Bay, chosen by local historian Alison Carew. The production is accompanied by music for cello and piano composed by

Talking With

Muritai School Hall 166 Muritai Road, Eastbourne, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

The mid-year production in 2023 was Talking with by Jane Martin directed by Suzy Cain. Publicity 2023 Eleven idiosyncratic individuals.  Eleven compelling stories. One incredible night of theatre. Join us for multiple award-winning play - Talking With – by Jane Martin, presented by Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe, Eastbourne, on 6, 7, 8 and 13, 14, 15 July at 7.30pm. Talking With is must-see theatre with intelligent, quirky, funny and original characters that will make you laugh, cry, and wonder what the heck this big old world is all about. Talking With premiered at Actor’s Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky in 1982 and went on to its New

Macbeth

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

This was the 28th consecutive year that the Troupe had presented a Shakespeare production - and the second time we have presented Macbeth (previously 2008).  This year's production was Bard in the Yard and the weather gods were favourable with only one night having to move into the school hall. Allan Burne, who played Macbeth, won an Antoinette Award for Excellence in Acting at the annual Wellington District Theatre Federation Full Length Play Competition. The play was presented in a crime family setting. The three witches were described as Three Women and were present on stage during the whole production playing multiple roles. Cast Woman

It Could Be Any One Of Us

Publicity 2024 Alan Ayckbourn's "It Could Be Anyone of Us" is a comedy murder mystery written in the 1980s. The play follows the Chalke siblings: three artists living out faded dreams amidst the faded grandeur of the once beautiful family estate. There are layers and depth to each of the characters that makes this play more than a traditional murder mystery, and true to its title it has the possibility of a different murderer each night! Before the show, the audience will be invited to vote for who they want the murderer to be. This concept has created a unique challenge for the Director and

The Foreigner

Muritai School Hall 166 Muritai Road, Eastbourne, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

The Foreigner, a play by Larry Shue first produced on Broadway in 1984 was presented in October 2024 directed by Suzy Cain. Publicity October 2024 Mistaken identities, evil adversaries, plot twists, and absurd excesses are in store for Butterfly Creek Theatre Troupe’s final production of the year, The Foreigner by Larry Shue.  Rehearsals are now underway. Winner of two Obie Awards, two Outer Critic Circle Awards and named the Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production of 1984, this modern farce remains a staple of regional and community theatre. Director Suzy Cain, (along with Assistant Director Nicola Tod) has assembled a fantastic cast and Cain is

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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