Eddie Galbraith has shared a love of the theatre with his mother Kate, since he was 10 and played lead in the 2015 production of Oliver.
Since then, the duo have appeared in several shows together, but never as mother and son.
In Footloose – Variety Theatre Mid Canterbury’s upcoming production – they will. Eddie has the lead role of Ren, while Kate is his mother, Ethel.
Kate said she feels “so lucky” to be sharing the stage with Eddie.
It’s a sentiment shared by Eddie about acting with his mum.
He said he never forgot on stage she was his actual mother, and enjoyed seeing his mother in a different light.
‘‘We didn’t set out to play Ren and Ethel, it just kind of happened that way,” he said.
‘‘It’s really cool and great experience, and I think we are pretty lucky to be able to work together, it’s very special.”
Eddie knew from the age of five the theatre was for him.
Kate said Eddie attended a clean up day after a show she had been in and while sweeping the stage looked around and said ‘I want to do this too’.
Footloose, under the direction of director Alice Sollis, musical director Jo Castelow and choreographer Jessie Thomson, is based on the 1984 movie of the same name.
It follows Ren, a teenager, who moves to a small, conservative town where rock music and dancing are banned. He then tries to overturn the ban by rallying the youth to hold a school dance.
Kate said rehearsing for Footloose had been giving her additional stage skills.
Past performances involved singing and dancing on stage, but acting and remembering lines was new.
‘‘Eddie has one of those brains where he remembers everything really quickly.
‘‘I have to read it, write it and then record it so I can listen to it when I am out walking.”
It took her a while to get used to hearing her own voice.
She said acting included timing and being word perfect was vital as music was cued to start on a certain word. If you suddenly forgot that word, it could affect parts of the show.
‘‘It is really crucial that you hit things right and the person who has dialogue after you needs your cues.”
Kate and Eddie do little bit of practice at home together but said it was kept at a minimum.
“I am naturally a really nervous person, and I feel like Eddie has really great natural instincts, so I never want to coach him too much or give him any of my options because I think his natural instincts are so good,” Kate said.
Eddie said he was “very comfortable” acting with his mother.
He has two older brothers but Kate said they would never want to do what Eddie does.
‘‘My husband likes to attend every night if he can. One time to watch me, one time to watch Eddie and one time to actually watch everybody else and take in the story.”
Tickets – Footloose will stage at the Ashburton Event Centre from May 23 – 24 and May 26 – 30. Tickets are available from the event centre website. Tickets $60, child under 13 $40 (fees apply).
