Vineeta Rao
Auckland, July 1, 2025
It takes something special for one man to hold an entire audience rapt and engaged for almost two hours but Andrew Grainger manages to do just that in his performance as Dickie Hart in Roger Hall’s End of Summertime currently running at the ASB Waterfront Theatre.
We all know someone like Dickie, gruff, grumpy and not quite politically correct. He is a straggler in the march of time and it shows. He is not entirely on board with multiculturalism so it comes as a complete shock to him when his wife Glenda forces him to sell up and head to Auckland with her, to be with their kids. He just can not stand it!
The noise, the traffic, the insane house prices, the immigrants, the shocking lack of a good footie team! But, as it did with all of us, Auckland grows on him. Dickie’s experiences are largely based on Roger’s own – he too moved up to Auckland.
We spend much of our time in Dickie’s living room, in his upmarket Takapuna flat. Basically, he is your average Kiwi bloke, even down to the way he dresses. He is dated and set in his ways, but under that gruff exterior, he is basically a decent bloke.
His wife Glenda, although she never appears on stage, is the catalyst for most things that happen to Dickie, from moving to a flat at Takapuna on the North Shore, to being part of the Body Corporate at his block of flats, to finding and making new friends.
The first half breezes along. Dickie’s clearly a wit with his tongue in cheek humour and signature wink and Grainger plays him beautifully. He describes all his new neighbours and friends and shows us a fascinating glimpse of his internalised misogyny as he apparently believes that every woman who is polite to him is, in reality, flirting with him. But while they all land with different sections of the audience, the jokes are mostly generic and lack heart. I do not truly connect with the character at this point.
Dickie is restless and his almost frantic actions demonstrate that restlessness. He opens the fridge, pulls out food, puts stuff in the microwave, never takes it back out, opens a beer, leaves it on the bench, makes himself a cup of tea, picks up the beer again…all while talking. It does distract initially but you begin to understand why Glenda has been suggesting activities for him!
The set was beautifully designed, framing Dickie perfectly. The ubiquitous recliner, a staple of many Kiwi homes, the kitchen bench with the bar stool and the shelf with pots, all serve as visual reminders that we have a ringside seat into his life.
When the curtains opened in the second act, the mood is still light. The nation is deep in the throes of Covid and Dickie is not happy. But then, who is?
He complains about lockdowns, handwashing, masks and even vaccinations. Honestly, it was not anything I have not heard from my neighbours or friends during and post the pandemic. As the lockdowns progress, Dickie grows sombre. Covid has claimed Glenda. And Dickie… Well, Dickie is bereft.
We are suddenly thrown into the world of isolation, grief, and loneliness that many senior citizens face. The mail keeps piling up unread on the table in the hallway but Dickie can not bring himself to care. The plants his wife has lovingly grown die too and Dickie just shrugs. The apartment is a mess. Clothes, unwashed, lie on the floor, dishes pile up on the kitchen bench, Dickie himself looks unkempt. But he just can not find the motivation to do anything about it.
Dickie isn’t alone in his loneliness. The pandemic just highlighted an existing problem, both in the country as well as globally. Studies show that over 30% of senior citizens in New Zealand feel social isolation and loneliness, leading to depression and anxiety. It is a very real problem. A senior citizen friend once told me she hated the self-checkout service at supermarkets because that took away even the tiny sliver of human interaction of paying at the till and chatting with the cashier.
From a comedic first half, the mood had suddenly shifted. A emotional connection was made. I found myself empathising with a man with whom I had very little in common. But I certainly understood the depth of of his despair. Dickie moved from being a comedic caricature of every white Kiwi man of a certain age, to a real human being and his journey, as he moves from grief to acceptance, is immensely heartwarming and relatable. Honestly, I would have preferred to see more of the second half than I did the first as it showcases Hall’s considerable skill as a playwright.
Dickie Hart’s eventual evolution into a full fledged Aucklander who embraces the city’s multiculturalism and people, despite the lack of a good football team, reads like a love letter to Auckland and definitely worth a watch.
The play is on at the ASB Waterfront Theatre until 5th July.
Vineeta Rao is an Indian Newslink Reporter based in Auckland.
