The Capping Show is back for the 130th time (never gets old), brandishing a new theme and a bucket load of sure-to-be-explicit skits – we counted “49 assorted sex, dick and tit jokes” last year.
Critic Te Ārohi met up with co-Stage Director Jack Archibald to flesh out the show’s new look, expectations for the show, and to put an end to the rumour that the Capping Show is just a massive cult (doubtful).
The idea for this year’s theme did not come easy, building on a series of discussions by the producer, directors, and main sketch writers. Yet, following a pitching night held at the start of the year, one theme emerged triumphant: Beezie – piggy-backing off last year’s Barbie boom, but in breatha-speak.
Jack explained the show as “a very loose adaptation of the movie” that is “set in Scarfieland.” Jack said that audiences could look forward to the “Dunedin-isation” of a film that made $1.446 billion USD in the box office and has attracted significant social commentary since its release last July. The added pressure of the 130th anniversary is allegedly “not scaring” the very passionate cast and crew.
The Capping Show held open auditions on the 27th and 28th of February, inviting both seasoned performers and complete theatre rookies to ensure that the show would have a diverse sense of humour. More than half of the 2024 Capping crew are new blood, but have “clicked” according to Jack, who mentioned that he was very impressed with how the new cast members had adapted.
Accompanying the new theme is the old host of Capping Show traditions, including the much revered Sextet and Sexytet, who have been performing since 1912 and 2001, respectively. The Selwyn ballet will also be on show, an amateur ballet troupe which claims to be the second oldest amateur group in the world (where you at Knox?). Even the crew is long-running, with co-Stage Directors Jack and Sunterra Bright having been Cappers for the past four years (that’s gotta do something to a person’s psyche).
As for whether this will be the best Capping Show yet, the resounding answer from Jack was a passionate "yes," as he hopes to triumph over history with a Beezie-fuelled ride through Studentville. Harnessing both fervent dedication to comedy and a determination to exceed expectations, the 2024 Capping Show hopes to leave a lasting impression on Dunedin's cultural landscape – but first, they need to sell tickets.
Keep an eye out on social media and around campus in May to grab tickets to one (or all) of their eight shows in the College of Education Auditorium.