COMEDY duo Amelia Dunbar and Emma Newborn are bringing their show “Life’s a Bitch” to Mahoenui and Kinohaku next month after having to cancel their tour last year. FILE PHOTO
AUDIENCES in Mahoenui and Kinohaku are expected to laugh themselves off their seats next month when hit comedy duo The Bitches’ Box visits the King Country. The show titled “Life’s a Bitch” follows comedians Amelia Dunbar and Emma Newborn in their roles as freedom camping Swiss circus dogs having a uniquely rural experience after breaking down outside a farm. Self-described Canterbury country bumpkin Amelia and Auckland city slicker Emma took the show on tour to woolsheds across the South Island last year as part of the Woolshed Tour. They were scheduled to be in Mahoenui at the end of October, when the King Country was plunged into lockdown. The duo have three shows in their suite of comedies about life as a dog and have taken them up and down the country as well as to festivals internationally in the past decade. Speaking to King Country News ahead of what was expected to be the King Country leg of the tour last year, Amelia said rural people were “wonderful.” Because of their daily experiences they understood every funny bit of the show, while some city audiences didn’t (King Country News, August 10, 2021). “While the story is specific to rural communities, it certainly flies there too – but urban audiences tend to laugh at different points,” she said. “Whereas rural people understand farm life and stock work [and get every funny bit].” In February Amelia, Emma and singer-songwriter Mel Parsons appeared on thewoolshedtour Instagram looking dismayed at having to announce the “sad but predictable” news that after three attempts they had to cancel all 20 shows that made up the North Island tour. As well as being an actor, writer and producer of The Bitches’ Box, Amelia is an artist. This month she was recognised by Rural Women New Zealand as the winner of the Creative Arts Award, sponsored by Public Trust Hall, for her performance and visual art. “The shows encourage rural communities to come together for a meal and a laugh and build connections in remote rural Aotearoa New Zealand. She is currently working on a feature-length film based on the live shows which will bring The Bitches’ Box story to a wider audience,” the organisation said of her work. “The sheep/beef/deer on her family farm provide the inspiration for Amelia’s colourful artworks which celebrate her love of her rural life.” This year King Country River Care has subsidised two King Country shows, at Kinohaku Hall on December 6 and Raupuha Stud Woolshed in Mahoenui on December 7, making tickets just $20 each. Both events start at 6pm with a barbecue and the show begins at 7pm.
