Trekkies boldly go to Wellington for live summer shows

A troupe of Trekkies is providing Wellington audiences with something a little less traditional.

For the last four years Summer Star Trek has been beaming down to Wellington as a lighthearted riff on the traditional Summer Shakespeare.

"There are some folks for whom Shakespeare's never going be hit, that Star Trek's more their speed. They prefer going warp 10 rather than going by horseback," says producer Shannon Friday.

This year they've picked the episode 'Journey to Babel', where the crew first meets Spock's parents and an assassin is hiding on board the Enterprise.

"I don't know anyone who wouldn't be delighted at the idea of a murder mystery in space," Friday says.

Staging Star Trek offers some unique challenges, Wellington wind aside.

For one, it's a stage show based on a TV episode that has multiple camera angles and more than 30 scenes. The solution - make it self-aware.

"Where possible I tried to make it close to the source material but in other ways I've tried to make it more theatrical and a bit more fun as well," director Devon Nuku says.

And for the more overzealous Trekkies, the show stresses it's a labour of love.

"When we're working on it we're always trying to make sure we're the butt of the joke," Friday says.

"We're in a public park trying to do television. There's a lot of comedy gold in that."

Much of the cast returns each year and for many it's an opportunity to step into their heroes' shoes.

James Bayliss, who plays Captain James T Kirk, says he thinks he has a good understanding of the character.

"I like to feel like I put part of myself in, he's a fun person to play," he says.

Brenton Hodgson, who plays Dr Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, says he grew up with Star Trek.

"I was born in the 60s and there's never been a part of my life without it. I come from a small town in Australia and drifted into a science career because of Star Trek."

The show runs from Wednesday to Sunday before returning next year for the last run of its five-year mission.

Newshub.