Superstar coming to Wainuiomata

“The child may avoid the justice system, which provides a huge benefit to the community.

“Our mentors engage with their mentee on a weekly basis.

“They explore the community resources available and do a range of activities such as parks, local sport games, beaches, cooking, library visits (the list goes on).

“Mentors help to motivate young people to have more community engagement as this creates a ‘safe zone’ for the child and they are more likely to show respect to these places.

“In the mentoring relationship a mentee can learn how their mentor interacts with their own family/ children.

“This helps the child learn about positive relationships. It helps to motivate the mentee to build a positive attitude towards their own relationships, friendships and school.”

The service is working to grow in the Wellington region by creating new matches as well as more partnerships with organisations and schools.

“At present we have 25 matches across the Hutt Valley and Wellington. The goal in our growth plan is to extend matches across Wellington in the future.

“Our ongoing programme encourages a positive attitude in children towards school, reduces the risk of violence, and provides friendship and guidance to at-risk children.”

The Wainuiomata Little Theatre will soon be raising the curtain on their next show – “Jesus Christ Superstar”.

A cast of 20, along with a live band, will be bringing the hit musical to life from Wednesday 31 May to Saturday 10 June. Tickets go on sale Monday, 1 May.

Based on the 1970s rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, “Jesus Christ Superstar” follows the Bible story of the final week in the life of Jesus Christ through the eyes of his apostle Judas Iscariot.

The musical has inspired two movies and many recognisable songs, including title track “Superstar”.

The theatre has previously staged “Jesus Christ Superstar”, most recently in 2014, and several of the cast from this show, as well as co-director Barry Paterson, are back a decade later for this production.

Barry says he’s enjoyed going back to the world of “Jesus Christ Superstar” and working with codirector Trevor Williams for this production.

“’Jesus Christ Superstar’ is one of my favourite shows because it’s almost a rock show with our live band as well as a musical,” Barry explains.

“Most people tend to know the story of Jesus’ final days and what this show does is bring the humanity into it, especially for characters like Pontius Pilate and Judas, who are typically painted by history as the bad guys.

“A lot of our staging is quite barebones in this production to really focus on what the characters have to say and express their emotions.

“Our cast have worked really hard on bringing this show to life for the Wainuiomata community to experience,” Trevor says. Wainuiomata Little Theatre was established in 1955 and has been a fixture in the community ever since. Its most recent shows were “Chicago” in 2022, and sell out seasons of “Les Misérables” in 2021 and “Mamma Mia!” In 2019.

“Jesus Christ Superstar” will be running from Wednesday, 31 May to Saturday, 10 June at 7:30pm with a matinee on Sunday, 4 June at 4:00pm (no show Monday) at the old Wainuiomata College Hall, Moohan Street. Tickets cost $15 each and will be available at www.trybooking.com from Monday 1 May.