The Worm – Te Pou Theatre: April 8, 2026 (13th Floor Theatre Review)
The Worm takes over Henderson’s Te Pou Theatre to tell a tall tale especially crafted for your child’s school holiday. With the added bonus of a master musician in the chair.
It’s billed as being “for adults six and older” – and, let’s be blunt, any play involving live original music by Finn Scholes (from the Carnivorous Plant Society) is worth seeing. And certainly hearing.
Scholes provides the whole soundtrack for the show, on trumpet, keyboards, vibes and percussion. Jazz interpretations of characters and action (this is the entertainment for the adults in the room). The cockroaches scuttle. The rats rap. Worms break-dance and waltz. And a spent light-bulb gets a send-off sent off by Debbie Boone.
It should be more surreal than it is. Instead, music aside, it all comes off a bit fumbly.
Children (for whom it’s made) giggle instead of guffaw. They titter instead of scream. The worms’ ‘hero journey’ (older ‘wiser’ worm, a guru-like Ahi Karunaharan, giving guidance to the younger, a weaker Puka Moeau) ends as all hero’s journey’s will.
There is some decent audience interaction – a diverting detour through a row of seats goes down well; an offer to pull on a rope however is less so.
I mentioned cockroaches. And rats. And worms. There’s also a snail, a spider and several birds. Nightsong have become known for their larger-than-life puppets and props, and the puppets (a little battered from touring) do work well (effective mahi here by Phil Gregory, Jeff Edgecombe, and Adele McNutt). The costumes a little less so: our cockroach (an effective cameo by Brett O’Gorman) describes something vastly different than his outfit; a bulb (for planting) needs to be described to define it; worms’ tails are made for tripping over; and poor Finn Scholes sits up the back dressed as …a bird? a fly? (We really need that Wire tune to know for sure.)
Nightsong as a joint artistic enterprise of Carl Bland and Ben Crowder have been delivering theatre now for over twenty years. The Worm was first given in 2022 at the Herald Theatre, and is now a touring production that’s been travelling the country (next stop Takapuna, Mångere and then Hawke’s Bay!). The sets (by Andrew Foster) have been crafted for that — simple, layered tent cloth to suggest the underworld and to allow swift exits and entries; backlighting (Will Smith & Tungsten Projects) giving off that nightclub vibe, and also a moderately effective dawn and dusk. The pairing of underworld and sun of course allows them the effective tagline of “an inspiring tale from the dark to the light.”
As always in pantomime, the villain steals the show. The Blind Rat is the star, and written to be so, Shauntelle Jones picking the bones out of every line she’s offered.
But it is just that little bit fumbly. A trifle clunky. The laughs (and shrieks) somewhat forced. Perhaps it’s just me being over the target age range – the children either side of me maintained their enthusiam over the show’s 65 minutes, which is a hard ask from anything in today’s short-term environment.
But children’s theatre is not trivial. It’s where the next generation of theatre enthusiasts will come from (I still have pleasant memories of seeing George Henare and Grant Bridger playing Snoopy and Charlie Brown respectively many years ago — and of course Henare was right, he did make a great statue). These memories of theatre past will hopefully drive them into the theatre in their future. Let’s be just a little more assured.
That said, we’re lucky to have theatre ensembles like Nightsong, and Henderson is fortunate indeed to have Te Pou Theatre and the many intrepid bands of artistes who play there.
If you need a school holiday play to entertain your offspring this week, you know just where to come.
THEATRE PETER
Tickets here.
More info here.
CREDITS
Writers: Carl & Peter Bland
Directors: Ben Crowder & Carl Bland
Design: Andrew Foster, Rachel Marlow, Brad Gledhill, Elizabeth Whiting, & Finn Scholes
Photography: Andi Crown Photography
Cast
Alison Quigan, Snail
Ahi Karunaharan, Old Worm
Brett O’Gorman, Cockroach
Shauntelle Jones, Rat
Puka Moeau, Young worm
Finn Scholes, Musician
