Hudson & Halls Live!

Overview

Posters of TVNZ’s biggest and brightest entertainers adorn the walls of Herald Theatre and the ushers are dressed in spiffy shirt and sports jacket combinations – turquoise is trending. A woman in a jumpsuit and retro headset calls for attention and hastily welcomes the crowd to the live taping of the 1986 Hudson & Halls Christmas Special. Housekeeping instructions are delivered in an awkward candour, a telling sign that this Floor Manager is about to wade in beyond her depth, particularly when it comes to keeping the show’s stars in line.

Entering the stage door, the set draws audible gasps for the sheer detail and accuracy of the mise en scene. The fully functioning studio kitchen is a nostalgic throwback to the kitschy and camp style of the era – decorative crockery crowding the shelves, tatty curtains, kitchen electronics so dated you couldn’t find them at your local Salvation Army and a token box of cask wine taking pride of place on the bench. The audience receives a lesson in appropriate participation and applause; laughing however, should be kept to a strict minimum. An impossible task once the iconic cooking duo take the stage.

Dressed in formal attire, the more sensible Peter Hudson adjusts his signature wide rimmed glasses and flashes a droll grin. David Halls insists on wearing a flamboyant satin bomber, before a quiet word from Hudson sees the jacket meekly cast aside – a touching relationship dynamic that will become familiar by the end of the night. Hudson and Halls were probably New Zealand’s first gay couple in entertainment, at a time when social conservatism ran high. Described as “in the closet with the doors wide open,” that the pair pulled top weekly ratings on Kiwi television screens was testament to their genuine personalities and convictions to be themselves. Nuanced throughout the play are the Floor Manager’s suggestions to ‘tone down’ the one-liners and fragrant gesturing so as not to alienate the viewers at home – a reminder of the precarious position with both the law and society that LBGT Kiwis faced in such astoundingly recent history.

A run-through decides the filming schedule and who takes the lead on each segment. The recipes for some dishes the audience are told, can be found in this month’s Women’s Weekly. Champagne cocktails are prepared, and the slippery slope of consumed beverages begins. Small preparation errors such as blocks of cheese that have not been pre-grated get the audience rumbling and sees one liners and exasperated exclamations flying thick and fast in a glorious rally of one-upmanship. Blame is sought for onscreen misdemeanours – usually falling on the increasingly anxious Floor Manager, expertly played by Jackie van Beek. By half time the theatre is heavy with the smell of Christmas dinner.

Hudson and Halls Live! is a triumphant homage to the iconic pair, with starring actors Chris Parker and Todd Emerson embodying the quirks and personalities without ever resorting to stale imitation. Amid the culinary madness and onstage bravado, the audience catches brief moments of the tenderness and adoration that cemented a very profound romance, all while decorative desserts are successfully popped from their moulds.

Silo Theatre presents Hudson & Halls Live! performed daily at Herald Theatre until 5 December.