Programme – Duet for One

DUet
fOR ONe

A PLAY BY TOM KEMPINSKI

After 12 months the songs were no longer there. Not that they were forgotten. Music and songs, as well as dances, definitely mirror life and happiness. Our house was still full of life. Life in every variation but happiness. The dark horror of Multiple Sclerosis was spreading its wings once again.

From the book “TO LIVE IS TO HOPE” written by Professor G. Jelinek’s father – George Jelinek, whose wife died from Multiple Sclerosis and whose son (the Professor) was to be ultimately diagnosed with it.

MS
NEW ZEALAND
For the benefit of the Hawke’s Bay Multiple Sclerosis Society of New Zealand Inc.

DUet
fOR ONe
A PLAY BY TOM KEMPINSKI

Originally a smash-hit play in both London and Broadway, receiving the prestigious British Drama Critics Award for 1981 and its recent revival in London, starring Henry Goodman and Juliet Stevenson, was heralded as a ‘triumph’.

More like a duel than a duet and with all the complexities of a concerto – “DUET FOR ONE” is revealing, sensitive, provoking, strong, humorous and at times shocking.

Stephanie Abrahams was a great concert violinist whose career was halted by the crippling disease of multiple sclerosis.

The play takes place over six counselling sessions with Dr. Feldmann a psychiatrist, who endeavours to help Stephanie come to terms with the illness and to face the future. Her love of music and the loss of her physical ability to play that music is a pivotal aspect of Stephanie’s future existence.

Kempinski’s inspiration was drawn from the life of Jacqueline du Pré, the world famous cellist who was stricken by multiple sclerosis at the height of her career.

Even if we set aside the tragic circumstances that beset Stephanie in Duet for One, the glamorous musician’s life can be seen as a curiously fragile existence. It continually walks a tightrope between supreme self-confidence and self doubt.

It embraces the speed and intensity of a life on the move – the self discipline, the demands, the ecstasy, the love, the skill and the energy required.

And often we just say ‘Gosh, how lucky to be so talented!?’

DUet
fOR ONe
A PLAY BY TOM KEMPINSKI

Director Gillian Davies

Dr. Alfred Feldmann   Stuart Devenie
Stephanie Abrahams   Jane Pierard

ACT ONE
(Dr. Feldmann’s Consulting Room)
Session One
Session Two   (two weeks later)
Session Three   (two weeks later)

…there will be an INTERVAL of 15 minutes…

ACT TWO
Session Four   (six weeks later)
Session Five   (two weeks later)
Session Six   (one week later)

Solo Violinist Tiffany Anderson

Design   Marc Collier
Lighting Design   Gwyn Ace
Lighting Technician   Walt Rutgers
With   Kirk Hine
Sound   Wade at TVHB
Graphic Design   Dylan Findlay
Stage Manager & Dresser   Deidre Hitchcock
Mr Devenie’s Attire   Alexanders on Tennyson
Mrs Pierard’s Attire   Designers Taradale
Hair   Rodney Wayne

Gillian Davies
‘Duet for One’ – no, not a duet – a trio – a quartet – in fact including all our great support team, sponsors, and you the audience, quite an orchestra – giving our best endeavours for the HB Multiple Sclerosis Society of NZ with their great and worthwhile work. It’s been splendid to be involved again with such a finely scripted play and even more so to work with such complete actors. For us it’s been an education both humbling and exciting and we thank you all for your part in it.

Stuart Devenie a Bay boy himself, now NZ acclaimed, availed himself immediately to the cause. We proudly welcome him back to our stage. Thank you to actress Jane Pierard, whom the Bay is always delighted to call their own. I am indebted to their driven and skilled commitment, their energy and their joy.

This also applies to Tiffany Anderson, Napier’s well known and gifted violinist.

Stuart Devenie
Stuart Devenie was born in Hastings and commenced acting at Hastings Group Theatre at age 12. His professional career has spanned nearly four decades. He has worked as a radio and television drama producer, taught acting and was Associate Director of the Court Theatre (Christchurch) and Artistic Director of Centrepoint Theatre (Palmerston North).

Acting everywhere from Riverton to Kaitaia and frequently heard on Radio New Zealand, Stuart is delighted to have the opportunity of working with Gillian again on such a worthwhile community project and to experience the added bonus of a stunning Hawke’s Bay summer.

Jane Pierard
Jane Pierard’s experience and work in the theatre began over forty years ago, at Sacred Heart College in Hamilton, where she had the opportunity to work on good-quality plays and musicals with dynamic and talented teachers. Since then, although her involvement has always had to be spasmodic, she has continued to work in a variety of performance genres. The majority of her theatre roles have been in productions directed by Gillian Davies, which never fail to challenge both the performers and audiences with their highly creative quality. Working on ‘Duet for One’ has been an intense but rewarding experience, not least for the insight it has provided into the enormous difficulties faced by those who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis.

Tiffany Anderson
Tiffany is passionate about music. Twenty six years of playing has only heightened her love of the violin. A teacher of Drama and Music at Taradale High School, Tiffany has relished working on this unusually individual piece and is pleased to be supporting such a worthy cause.

Tom Kempinski – Playwright
Tom Kempinski’s career commenced as an actor. In 11 years, he was unemployed for only ten months. During this time his roles included lead parts in Blitz! By Lionel Bart (Adelphi), Love for Love by William Congreve (also at the National Theatre, and starring Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Albert Finney and Lynn Redgrave) and leads in Dingo (Royal Court) and Apollinaire (ICA).

As a playwright, Tom Kempinski has written 55 plays of which around 45 have been produced. These include Sellout for which he also composed the music (National Theatre); Flashpoint (Mayfair Theatre). Duet for One has since played in 46 countries, been nominated for many awards and won London Theatre Critics’ Award for Best Play of the Year. It more recently played a record-breaking year-long run in Paris with Francis Huster and Christina Real, who won the Stage Actress of the Year Award for this production.

For 15 years, Tom Kempinski suffered severe agoraphobia and the condition had a significant effect on his life. He wrote little, his weight increased to 24 stone and he was unable to leave his home. However, in the past few years and following extensive therapy, Tom has written 15 plays, lost 12 stone in weight and he and his partner have a daughter.

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the central nervous system. It is thought to be the most common cause of disability among young New Zealanders although the exact number of people living with MS is not currently known.

What causes MS?
It is not yet known what causes MS, but we do know that the number of people within the population who have MS (i.e. “the prevalence”) varies significantly between countries and even between different geographical locations within the same country.

MS is thought to result from a complex interplay between both genetic and environmental factors. It has been shown that people with certain sorts of ancestry can be more prone to MS, and that other types of ancestral heritage can protect groups from developing MS.

However, genes on their own do not cause MS; environmental factors also seem to play a role. One possible environmental factor that has particular relevance to New Zealanders is the amount of sunshine a person is exposed to during childhood.

HBMS Society
The HBMS Society based in Onekawa, Napier, provides a support and advocacy service for members and their families. The society also supports anyone diagnosed with a neurological disorder that does not have an association or support network available to them within Hawke’s Bay: these include people diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, Frederick’s Ataxia, Dystonia and many other neurological disorders.

At present there are over 100 people diagnosed with MS and other neurological disorders receiving support from the HBMS Society. The ratio is 1 man to every 3 women diagnosed with MS and approximately 4000 people in New Zealand diagnosed with MS. In Hawke’s Bay the youngest diagnosed is 23 years old. The Society provides a fieldworker service which assists members with a variety of issues that arise from a diagnosis such as this. Its role is not only to provide knowledge and education regarding Multiple Sclerosis but to run social groups for its clients as needs arise.

Most years it provides a family camp that many families with a diagnosis of MS find extremely beneficial primarily because the person with the diagnosis is able to participate safely in activities and push their personal boundaries and the family members are able to make friends with other people in a similar situation. It also runs workshops on different topics relating to its client base – workshops on legal issues such as Power of Attorney, wills, funerals, health and may [many] other subjects in which, when appropriate, the public are encouraged to participate.

The HBMS Society covers the HBDHB area from Wairoa in the north to the Takapau Plains and like many other not for profit organisations within Hawke’s Bay are struggling to fund the services that are vital to the wellbeing of its client base. The service provided is extremely valuable to our members providing a service that enables them to participate as fully as possible in our Hawke’s Bay community.

We are indebted to Gillian Davies the cast and team of supporters for undertaking this mammoth production on our behalf. Thank you.

MS
NEW ZEALAND

Jeff Silvester
President
MS House, 72 Austin Street
Onekawa, Napier
Ph: 06 8433000

Furnishings: The Warehouse Napier
Sponsors
Danks Carpet Court
Barry Browne
Hawke’s Bay Today
The Napier Courier
Radio Kidnappers
Mobilities Hawke’s Bay
The Little Book Shop, Latham St.
Coolit Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Ltd
Firenzo
Pink Total Transport
Taradale High School
Eastern Institute of Technology
Audio Smith (Mike Schupbach)
Television Hawke’s Bay

Special thanks to:
Consultant Psychologist: Wolfgang Greve
Consultants on M.S: Catrina Green & John (Jumbo) Berryman
Karyn Hawkins & The Altrusa Club
Neill Page
Norah Griffin, Kerry Unsworth and Denise Greer,
Peter Eade, William Waitoa
Bill Dalton
The Century Theatre, Eardley Bennet [Bennett] and staff
The Municipal Theatre, Dale Reid and staff
Robyn Coyle & all those at MS House

To the anonymous donor whose generosity allowed this endeavour to come to the stage.

And of course to the late Jacquelin [Jacqueline] du Pré (1945-1987), Johann Sebastion [Sebastian] Bach (1685-1750), Ludwig Von [van] Beethoven (1770-1847), Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840), Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Jascha Heifetz (1901-1897).

MS
NEW ZEALAND

HBMS Society would like to thank
GEON Print and Communications Solutions for their very real support

GEON