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Book by
Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell -
Music and Lyrics by
Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick -
Conceived by
Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick -
Directed by
Benjamin Kilby-Henson -
Musical Direction by
Richard Marrett -
Choreography by
Kira Josephson
Tickets on sale Thursday 1 February at 9am
After dazzling audiences for over eight weeks and due to phenomenal demand we are thrilled to say SOMETHING ROTTEN! will be returning to our stage for one more strictly limited season.
It’s England 1595 and playwright brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom can’t compete with the rockstar popularity of a certain William Shakespeare. Desperate to out-Bard the Bard, Nick consults a soothsayer and learns that the next big thing in theatre will be a MUSICAL—a play where "an actor is saying his lines, and out of nowhere he just starts singing"—but “nothing’s as amazing as a musical!”
The Bottom brothers set out to write the world’s very first musical, Omelette, while caught in a bitter battle with Shakespeare. Meanwhile, Nick’s wife Bea is disguising herself as a man and Nigel has fallen in love with Portia, a puritan’s daughter. Filled with wordplay, musical, historical, and Shakespearean references, Something Rotten! is a hilarious celebration of musical theatre with something for everyone.
"This production earns my highest possible recommendation. Superb. Bravo. Go" - Broadwayworld.com on The Court Theatre's original season of Something Rotten!
"...it’s a genuine pleasure to say that this show hits the jackpot." - Flat City Field Notes
Something Rotten! had an original season at The Court Theatre from the 24 November to the 27 January 2024
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Key Dates
- 6:30pm, Thursday, 4 July 2024: Opening night
- 11am, Friday, 5 July 2024: School's Matinee
- 2pm, Saturday 6 July 2024: Matinee
- 4pm, Sunday, 7 July 2024: Sunday afternoon
- 4pm, Sunday, 14 July 2024: Sunday afternoon
- 7:30pm, Friday, 19 July 2024: NZSL Interpreted Performance
- 2pm, Saturday 20 July 2024: Matinee
- 4pm, Sunday, 21 July 2024: Closing night
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Tickets
Standard Senior Friends *Child ^CSC/Student/Hāpai Price $79 $71 $67 $40 $47 *Child - under 18 years, ^CSC - Community Services or Hāpai Card, Student - ID Card Holders
Please note: complimentary tickets are not able to be used for this show.
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Cast
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Band
Richard Marrett
Musical Director & Keys 1
Caelan Thomas
Assistant Musical Director & Keys 2
Bradley Grainger
Bass
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Creative
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Media Reviews
- Belinda Cullen-Reid, Backstage Christchurch.
- Neil Brewer, Broadway World.
- Erin Harrington, Flat City Field Notes.
- Robyn Peers, Independent Reviewer.
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Audience Reviews (21)
"What an absolutely mind blowing show! Hilarious, fast, stunning design and so clever. Opening night was something truly special, it had a real buzz about it. Incredible - congratulations Court Theatre team, you’ve outdone yourselves. I will be back. ""This show was absolutely amazing. An amazing cast, brilliant use of props, and fantastic costumes. Entertaining from start to finish. ""The Court at its very best with this stunning musical. Can't wait to see it again. It's got it all. ""To go or not to go that is the question ? The answer is You MUST go . Funny irreverent topical and top class performances . Absoloutely loved Something rotten , the actors and costumes and set take You everywhere . Honestly the lines are so funny and well delivered I’m gong to have to go back to catch the ones I missed . Thankyou for premiering this important piece of theatre in Australasia.. Friday night had a sound glitch and the show had to pause , it was so well handled by the actors I think it should happen every night it was so well handled . Bottoms .. up for the rest of the season .""A superb quality production. You’ve got to see this one. Actors were amazing. Sooo funny and they just seemed to be loving it as much as the audience. Real talent. The set as always was outstanding. A great choice to perform. More like this please ""Fabulous! Came away buzzing. Fantastic characterisation, witty, clever, catchy songs, energetic. So many nuances, and laugh out loud parody throughout. My face is still aching from the grin. This beats them all.""Totally LOVED this show. Made me laugh out loud .. so clever and professional . The cast was outstanding, hitting every note and clearly loving every minute along with us all . Thanks so much for the experience . Gathering my teenage kids who I KNOW will love it and coming again ! x Thanks and well done court theatre x""Not enough superlatives for this amazing production. Fast, funny, fantastic wardrobes, subtle jokes interwoven which really made you listen! Choreography was incredibly coordinated. While focused on competing with Shakespeare there were plenty of modern moments interwoven. Fantastic acting by a fantastic cast. Character portrayal was so attention grabbing. Never laughed so much. Thanks to all involved in bringing this to us.
Arnold Schwarznegger had a famous line … “ I’ll be back.” Truly tempting thought!! It really is a “ must see”.""TOP CLASS ~ Perfectectly Cast ~ Stage & Props & Costumes Incredible A funtastic show to see out the year with! Thanks Court Theatre & Thanks to all the amazing cast & crew ""A highly entertaining and polished performance! A great cast, set design, and costumes make Something Rotten a play to see. So grab some mates and purchase your tickets to be widely entertained in song and dance!!""Great show! Very well cast, bright and funny with fab choregraphy. Some of the humour is lost if you dont know your Shakespeare or musical theatre but still a great night out . Would recommend to everyone.""A wonderful, joyous, silly celebration of a show! Impossible not to grin all the way through it. Whether you are a certified musical theatre geek or not, the absolute feast of talent on stage will keep you thoroughly entertained from start to finish. ""We have been regular customers for many years now and " something Rotten " was the best, fun filled show this Season. Thank you. ""Went to this show not really knowing anything about it. Came away buzzing - fantastic story and music, and so well executed by the amazing Court Theatre company! I haven't laughed so much in a musical for ages. This is a show for all ages and I highly recommend you see it!""My wife and I live in New Jersey, with Broadway an hour away. We see our share of live theater in NY and NJ. Nothing we have seen compares to your production of
SOMETHING ROTTEN!.
Perhaps our most enjoyable experience in theater, ranking up there with the original cast of Book of Mormon, Bette Midler in Hello Dolly and Jessica Chastain in A Doll’s House.
Funny, witty, a thoroughly memorable show. We couldn't stop talking about the actors, sets, choreography and singers.
And we dug the American accents of course.""What a show! Not a weak performance throughout the cast. The set was brilliant, the scene changes slick and the orchestra top class. This production would not be out of place in a major overseas theatre. The friendly, intimate atmosphere The. Court provides added to the enjoyment. We’ll done to everyone involved.""Absolutely stunning. A fast paced, laugh out loud show not to be missed. You will love it and be gutted if you miss it. Congratulations to The Court Theatre, actors, company, front of house, backstage, director, stage manager and crew for hosting an incredible show. It's to a standard you could see on Broadway or the West End. Do yourself a favour and book a ticket. You will not be disappointed. ""We have been to every end of year musical at The Court since whenever - ( and lot's of other productions as well ) - this is the first time we have booked to attend a 2nd time. Enough said ! ""What a fabulously mind blowing performance. This was so high energy and you could tell the actors were having an absolute blast! As a musical theatre nerd it was another layer of fun trying to pick as many of the references as I could. Have been humming about how hard it is to be the bard since. Huge congrats to the whole team! ""This show was absolutely spectacular. The choreography, music, and script were brilliant.
It was a " laugh out loud" play for me and very uplifting.
I really think the script was utterly brilliant and exceptionally clever.
The best show I have been to at the Court for a long time. Worth every cent. ""Came twice ! Reminded me of what I used to love so much about The Court Theatre - haven’t seen anything as good as this for SO long . Onwards and upwards ! The 2024 season looks great and I will at last be able to bring my students back :) The place had found joy again phew !"Submit Review