Hamilton is a small city in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is also the setting for the brilliant musical Daffodils (A Play With Songs). The show takes on the familiar themes of love and death but instils whimsy and passion in to the topics with beautiful songs, engaging narration, blistering rock n’ roll and note perfect performances.
Daffodils benefits from the charisma and talents of the two lead performers who stand at opposite sides of the stage. Todd Emerson is the dashing and at times naive male lead, while Collen Davis plays Rose, the young and striking love interest. They meet at a daffodil garden and their love blossoms into marriage. Tragedy hits with the death of a parent and Rose begins to distrust her older and somewhat unreliable husband. The show fuses a mix of New Zealand’s best music in to the story. Blam Blam Blam’s There is No Depression in New Zealand and Darcy Clay’s Jesus I Was Evil make an appearance along with a beautiful version of Fall at Your Feet by Crowded House. The play is actually set during the 1960s and the modern musical influences work well, creating a contemporary soundtrack to a traditional love story.
The two main performers narrate the story and are joined by a versatile three-piece band. On occasions photographs and videos are projected on to a large screen to the back of the stage. This backdrop helps set the scene and gives a sense of location to the narrative. It is the songs that really stand out and grab the audience attention though. The soundtrack is perfect and the story is heart-warming and touching. Playwright Rochelle Bright has managed to infuse magic into a personal story and no doubt turned a lot of Edinburgh natives into fans of Kiwi pop music.
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