Photos: Carmen Bird
As an actor, Mark Hadlow is a big fan of drama. However, The Hobbit star could have done without the real-life drama he’s been going through in the last couple of years. His home suffered $300,000 of damage in a mudslide.
Mark’s house was one of the casualties of the torrential rain that caused terrible flooding and landslides in Nelson and the surrounding Tasman area in August 2022. It’s only in the last couple of months that it has finally been fixed.
“The retaining wall at the back of the property failed and 500 cubic metres of mud came down on the back of the house,” reveals Mark. “I’ll never forget the sound of the wall snapping – it sounded like bullets going off. It was just heartbreaking.
“Thankfully, the insurance came through and after living with diggers everywhere and clay mud throughout the house, it now looks great. My wife Jane was incredible – she made it all happen and her stamina is amazing. It was a terrible thing to happen, but we know we are luckier than other people who lost everything.”
While all of this was going on, Mark was busy helping to set up a professional theatre company in Nelson. He also helped the company, sensibly named, The Professional Theatre Company, to stage its first production. He not only starred in the play Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Dodson Valley Road, but he came up with the idea.
“I was on a bus going from Wellington Airport into the city to do a voice-over job somewhere and the idea came to me like a lightning bolt. It’s about two actors – a husband and wife – getting ready for an opening night of Macbeth. The first act is about them in the dressing room before the show. Then, the second act is what happens when they go on. I knew exactly what would happen – it was just like, ‘Boom!’”
The first thing Mark did after coming up with the idea was phone actor Lara Macgregor to see if she’d be interested in playing Mrs Macbeth. The pair have worked together in numerous productions over almost 20 years, including playing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the original Shakespeare play.
“The two of us just gel and I love working with her,” enthuses Mark. “Thankfully, she thought it was a fantastic idea.”
He then called his friend, playwright, director and actor Gregory Cooper, who agreed to write the show. Gregory previously wrote the hit one-man play Middle Aged Man in Lycra (MAMIL) for Mark, based on insights he came up with after becoming a fan of cycling.
Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Dodson Valley Road’s run in Nelson last year earned rave reviews. “It’s hilarious,” says Mark. “It’s a chance for everyone who hated Shakespeare at school to enjoy seeing things go terribly wrong.”
Mark and Lara are back for another season of the play. This time it’ll be titled Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Heathcote Valley Road in Christchurch. Mark’s hoping they’ll also get to perform it at the Dunedin Arts Festival, and if they can find funding, take it to the Edinburgh Festival.
The lack of money for New Zealand’s arts industry, which took a massive hit during Covid, is very disheartening, says Mark. “We have got incredible creatives and some of the best actors in the world. But that huge shortage of funding really needs to change. I’d love us to have the same funding and support. And also for New Zealanders to be as proud of us as they are of the All Blacks and the Silver Ferns.”
While there are tough times in the industry, Mark is grateful that he has got plenty of work. He recently had a role in the thriller Deep Water. It was about a plane that crashes into shark-infested waters. In it, he plays the coach of a wrestling team “who does a lot of thrashing about in the water. I got to do my own stunts!”
The Professional Theatre Company has more productions lined up. One of which is a follow-up to MAMIL called Grumpy Old Men in Lycra. Mark is also trying to get funding for Delivery Men, a TV show he’s devised about a modern-day Kiwi Robin Hood. He’ll also be putting in a brief appearance on Shortland Street.
At 66, he’s got no plans to slow down. “I’m not going to stop,” he asserts. “I’ve got too much to give. I want to do what I can for the acting industry and to keep people entertained. People are more reluctant these days to go to the theatre. But let me tell you, they’re missing out on so much.”
Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Heathcote Valley Road is on at Christchurch’s Court Theatre from May 18 to June 22. Find your tickets here.
