The Rehearsal director thrilled about Civic premiere

The Rehearsal director thrilled about Civic premiere

A film adaptation of Eleanor Catton's first novel The Rehearsal will premiere at Auckland's Civic theatre on Saturday night.

The film boasts a stellar Kiwi cast, including Boy's James Rolleston - who's now all grown up. 

The Rehearsal is set in a fictionalised version of Auckland's Unitec, a drama school many of its young actors really did attend.

But this place makes the Fame Academy look like playschool.

"There is a kind of tradition of getting acting students to bear their soul and you know reveal their most intimate selves," says director Alison Maclean.

"And it does have a scary side to it. I think there's a basis of truth, and we've fictionalised it as well."

Into this bullpit walks naive Stanley - played by Rolleston, who wowed us in Boy.

"I admired his work a lot, and it was nice to give him a role that was very different from everything he's ever done before as an actor and really stretch him," Maclean says.

There Stanley encounters Hannah, the scary acting teacher - Kerry Fox in real life.

"I wanted to work with Kerry for a long time, she's been a friend," Maclean says.

"And so that was a thrill for me to work with her, I mean she was absolutely perfect for the role."

It's a coming of age movie as Stanley falls in love, but his young girlfriend's family has a scandalous secret he's tempted to mine as an actor.

"That was an interesting dilemma for me, just that line of what's a betrayal and what's legitimate to use," Maclean says.

Maclean directed the short Kitchen Sink and the movie Crush here at the start of her career.

Now after making TV like The Tudors, she's back for a feature with twists aplenty.

"Creating suspense of not knowing what's going to happen, I like films that are surprising in that way," she says.

"So I always wanted it to be a little bit elliptical so you have to kind of join the dots."

Maclean's thrilled to show the film in Auckland, the city it was made in, so soon after it was finished.

"I'm just so excited to show it to an audience to the first time and show it to the Civic, because I just adore it at that theatre. I couldn't be more happy about showing it at the world premiere."

Maclean says Catton likes the movie and she wouldn't mind a shot at filming The Luminaries - but that might have to be a series.

Newshub.