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4 — Times, Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Suspenseful stage 10 months to thriller delivers get inorganic rubbish picked up from home ADVERTORIAL JH16543A
AUCKLAND COUNCIL
➤ What: The Girl on the Train ➤ Where: Howick Little Theatre, 1 Sir Lloyd Drive, Pakuranga ➤ When: Season runs until May 29 (Wed to Sat, 8pm), with a 2pm matinee on May 16.
By CHRIS HARROWELL So many secrets, so many lies, so many suspects. Howick Little Theatre’s stage production of author Paula Hawkins’ much-loved story The Girl on the Train is a multi-layered spider’s web drawn together toward an explosive conclusion. The psychological thriller is based on the novel of the same name and adapted for the stage by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel. It’s set in the United Kingdom and centres on the character Rachel Watson, an unemployed, divorced and depressed alcoholic, played by Katie Fullard. Rachel creates a fantasy in her mind about the lives of the people she sees outside the window while riding the train. They include her ex-partner Tom, his new wife Anna, their baby Evie, and a couple named Scott and Megan Hipwell. When Megan disappears, the tension increases with the arrival of sarcastic Detective Inspector Gaskill, played by Ruth Edgar, who focuses on Rachel as the prime suspect. Fullard creates a drunken yet likeable woman in Rachel, who’s trying to work out what happened to Megan while struggling to pull her life together and overcome her demons. Dramatic relationships are the spark that ignites the play’s explosive drama. Rachel may still hold a candle for her dishonest and manipulative ex-husband Tom, played by Cameron Smith, and her mutual animosity toward Anna, played by Natasha Foster, only darkens the mood. Scott and Megan, played by Daniel Wilkin-
Actors Ruth Edgar, left, and Katie Fullard are among the cast assembled for a local production of the play The Girl on the Train.
Photo supplied
son and Saga Vigre Bohinen, also have a tempestuous relationship that’s scarred by infidelity and violence. Adding another layer to the storyline is mysterious therapist Kamal Abdic, played by Romain Mereau, who’s providing counselling and possibly more to Megan. Swedish actor Bohinen delivers one of the play’s most moving and memorable scenes. Kneeling on the ground, she stirs the emotions while recounting a traumatic incident from her past, echoed by the backdrop of dripping water and a howling gale battering her ramshackle home. Director Matthew van den Berg has an excellent cast of seven Kiwi and overseas actors to work with and he gets a stellar performance from each. The play features a high-quality set and an up-tempo soundtrack with music that may be new to the ears of older audience members. Overall, it’s a fast-paced and emotional story that will have the audience engaged until the final scene. To book tickets, go online to www.iticket. co.nz/events/2021/may/girl-on-the-train or phone 361 1000.
HOW MUCH DO OUR APARTMENT RESIDENTS LOVE LIVING HERE?
Well, 95% wish they’d made the move earlier.
By CHRIS HARROWELL
T
en months after Graeme Rose made a booking to have his inorganic rubbish removed from his east Auckland home, it was finally taken away. The Pakuranga Heights resident says he booked the collection in June last year and received an email saying it would be collected on February 26. He contacted Auckland Council in early February to confirm the collection was scheduled to go ahead as planned and was told it was. Rose says he put his inorganic rubbish in his driveway in Riverhills Avenue for easy accessibility. When his rubbish wasn’t picked up on February 26 he phoned the council to ask why. “The reply from the person on the phone was they’re on their way,” Rose told the Times. “Then, ‘no, they have sent us a photo of your gate next to your letterbox’. “I asked what time this photo was taken but there was no answer. “I explained my rubbish was up my driveway where it had been collected by the council in previous years. “I was then told another collection would be six to eight weeks away.” Rose says the next day he found a flyer in his letterbox that said he could book an inorganic rubbish collection.
East Auckland man Graeme Rose has started assembling his next pile of inorganic rubbish for collection. Times photo Wayne Martin
“I go to my laptop to proceed to book my collection, but it said I had already booked one. “Then I get a text message to say my collection will be on March 12.” Rose then went away on holiday. He phoned his neighbour the next day and was told three large council trucks had been parked outside his house the previous day. He returned on March 20 and the rubbish was still in his driveway. “I phoned the council on March 22 to find out why my inorganic rubbish had not been collected. “I was put through to a lady, told her the problem, and she said she would get back to me in two days.” Rose says on March 26 he phoned the council and was told the staffer he’d spoken to was away. Four days later he went to the council office in Manukau to talk to them in
person. That failed but he did manage to talk to another staffer, who he says told him she would get back to him and sort out the problem. “On March 31 I received an email saying my inorganic collection will be on April 9, then at 4.45pm the same day I received a phone call to tell me the collection would be on April 1. “I told her I had received an email that morning to say it was going to be on April 9.” Rose says the staffer told him to ignore the email. His inorganic rubbish was finally collected on April 9. A council spokesperson says there was confusion about the location of Rose’s property for the original booking, and “unfortunately the collectors did not locate anything to be collected when they came to the site”. “If there is not a clear inorganic pile that corresponds to the booking location, we do not guess and collect things, as that could easily result in retrieving the incorrect personal property from the wrong location. “We appreciate how diligent the customer was in following up with us and assisting us to locate the property and we are sorry for the confusion. “The inorganic collection was retrieved on our third attempt to locate and access the collection.”
HBH’s apartments offer the best of both worlds: the freedom of independent living, with help on hand if you need it. Our 42 modern apartments are ideally located in the heart of Howick in a small, friendly, caring community with shops, facilities and activities nearby. We have apartments available now, so why not make the move? Like our other residents, you may just love it. To request a brochure or make an appointment: Call: Robyn Greer 538 0800 or 027 494 0344 Email: robyn.greer@hbh.org.nz Web: www.hbh.org.nz
Honouring and Celebrating Life Cnr Picton & Walter Macdonald Street, Howick • Ph (09) 533 7493 88 Great South Road, Manurewa • Ph (09) 267 2530 www.resthavenfunerals.co.nz A member of the Retirement Village Association of NZ JH16815
A service of Howick Baptist Healthcare Ltd
Members of the Funeral Directors Association of NZ JH15972-V4