The Barden Party LOVES Hawai’i
It’s been a magical week and an unforgettable start to our US tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Day one
We spent much of our first day in Hawai’i working out logistics like getting SIM cards for the cast and sorting out rental car drama. With the car acquired, Laura quickly got comfortable driving on the right side of the road for the first time in 7 years, and made all the essential day-one-of-your-US-tour trips:
Airport pick-ups
A trip to IHOP
A supermarket shop
A trip to Target
And finally home to rest up for the big day ahead, including our first show!
Day two
The day started with Charlie, Matthew, and Wiremu fixing our trunk - which was broken by TSA upon entry to the US.
With our repair job out of the way, we were eager to make the most of our first full day on the beautiful island of O’ahu.
This called for a trip to Lanikai Beach, where we swam, buried each other in the sand, and soaked up some gorgeous sun.
Then, it was time to get ready for our first show since our sold-out farewell performance at Theatre Royal Nelson almost a month ago!
Our venue for the next two days would be the beautiful and historic Hawaii Plantation Village.
We had the privilege of being the first to perform on their brand-new stage, before an audience who gave us a standing ovation. It was the perfect opening night for our US tour, topped off with a thoughtful lei presentation by our host at the village, Evelyn.
The cast reunited at Laura’s long-time friend, Avi’s house, where we indulged in homemade tacos, salsa, and margaritas.
Day three
We spent the first half of the day exploring Waikiki. The cast split up to go on our own adventures, including sightseeing, shaved-ice-eating, shopping, and enjoying the sunshine.
We caught up again to enjoy some jazz music and eat lunch together, before heading back to the Plantation Village for our final show there.
The audience was fantastic and we got a photo with some of them straight after the show. During our bows, Evelyn came on stage and presented us each with fresh flower leis. We even had the chance to bring Laura’s daughter (and The Barden Party roadie) Ivie onstage to sing our final song together for the first time ever!
Day four
After traveling across the world and performing two shows, today was our only totally free day in Hawaii! So we took a day trip to the North Shore.
We drove the 50 minutes (with of course a singalong) and stopped at @haleiwabowls for cold brew coffee and açai bowls and then made our way to Waimea Bay for more beachy mischief!
We swam, snorkeled, and just beached.
Then we walked over to Shark’s Cove and braved the rocks to get to a beautiful lagoon-like area to snorkel and see some of the sea life up close.
Across the street, we visited some classic food trucks for burgers, fish tacos, poke bowls, shrimp, and shaved ice.
We then made our way to Laniakea Beach where we saw turtles! So many of them! Some of them on the beach, some popping their little heads out of the water in the surf.
The whole cast got together to round out the day with some karaoke in the evening. It was epic.
Day five
Our final full day in Hawai’i!
Our show this evening was organised by Laura’s friend Avi. She became one of the original catalysts for our US tour when she messaged us months ago, asking “what would it take to bring The Barden Party to Hawaii?”.
As a team of dream-chasers and risk-takers, we’re proud to say we can now answer that question: a whole lot of hard work, backed up by endless self-belief and the support of our friends and fellow theatre-lovers around the world*
*you can still donate to our GoFundMe campaign, as it turns out it also takes a whole lot of money!
It was a beautiful full-circle moment to perform the show that first put our plan for a US tour into motion.
Leading up to our show in the evening, we had a team meeting to prepare for our flight tomorrow to St Louis via Atlanta.
All in all, this week has been an incredible experience for the whole cast, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the love and kindness the people of Hawai’i have shown us in our brief time here.
What’s next?
Our next stop is Illinois, where we’ll be performing six shows in a single, jam-packed week!
Check our upcoming public shows to see if we have any near you! We’d love to see you there.
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook to join us on the rest of our US tour, and beyond!
