Fleur Coombe is following in her father's theatrical footsteps at Repertory Theatre

Fleur Coombe is following in her father's theatrical footsteps at Repertory Theatre Robert Charles/FAIRFAX NZ TARYN UTIGER Last updated 16:33, April 27 2016 Les Emslie was a master of theatre in Taranaki. Eight years after his death his daughter is continuing his legacy. Taryn Utiger reports. When Fleur Coombe was young she used to sit quietly in the theatre, watching her dad bring a stream of scripts to life. Sometimes her dad, Les Emslie, would be acting, sometimes he'd be directing and there were even occasions he'd be doing both at once. After a lifetime in the theatre Fleur Coombe is finally directing her first full length adult play. Emslie, who was also a playwright, was a theatrical mastermind and his time at New Plymouth Repertory Society left his daughter captivated by him and by his second home - the theatre. Now, eight years after Emslie's death at the age of 66, his daughter is following in his footsteps by directing her first full length adult play, How the Other Half Loves. Already a seasoned actor, Coombe can remember her first foray into her dad's theatrical world. "Dad was involved in theatre before I was born, in Wellington, and he did charity tours and pantomimes. Then when he moved to New Plymouth, he didn't get involved in theatre for a wee while, until the late 80s. "The first play he did here, that he directed, was A Christmas Carol. So I was in that. I was the Ghost of Christmas Past. That was a really nerve-racking experience for me because I'd never been on stage at all, and it freaked me out big time. "So that was the beginning. He went on to become president of Repertory and I sort of tagged along I guess, to lots of rehearsals for shows that he was in, and I got involved backstage with makeup, prior to being in any shows. I did makeup here and at Operatic because mum [Emily Emslie] was involved at Operatic helping backstage. "So I just basically tagged along and that's how I became involved and started following in his footsteps." Coombe admits they are big shoes to fill, and says she's not sure she will ever be as all-rounded as her father was. "I don't think I'd ever be the person to adapt the shows like he did. I don't have that flair with writing that he obviously had." Emslie wrote scripts for a string of magical tales, including A Christmas Carol, Aladdin, Beauty And The Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Dick Whittington, and Cinderella, many of which Coombe has gone on to direct. How the Other Half Loves, by Alan Ayckbourn, will be her first full length adult play, and it also marks the beginnings of three generations of theatre practitioners, with her young daughter Leticia becoming involved. She may only be 5-years-old, and she may only be helping with the painting of the set, but just like her mum, Leticia is following in the family footsteps. "Leticia has been coming along to some rehearsals. She just loves it. She even came up and helped Morris [West] paint the floor. "She came to a rehearsal the other night and watched the first scene. Of course it's at night and she's only five, but she wants to come and see the whole thing, and she's pretty excited about it. "We are priming her, because I am doing another family show next year. I'm booked to do Sleeping Beauty. That's another adults and kids play, and one that dad adapted and directed back in 1998. So, I thought it's nearly been 20 years, so that's long enough of a gap. She's being primed for that." But before Coombe can start on Sleeping Beauty, she must first focus on her current cast of six adults. Directing a play with a cast of just adults is new, different and offers a separate set of challenges than a family show does, Coombe says. "It is quite different dealing with adults and also with a play that has been written by a proper playwright and not a member of my family. It's probably a bit more challenging." Luckily, she says, she's inherited her father's patience. "I think a lot about him when I am up here doing it, and how he would go about something. Sometimes you think 'Oh God, I wish he was here to ask.' "We did have quite a similar way of thinking and I just like to think that hopefully I am doing it the way he would. "Sometimes I might go home and vent something to mum and she says 'I think your dad would agree with what you've done.' So that's kind of nice. You just do your best I guess and hope that it works." Coombe says in terms of who she is working with, she's been blessed with a talented cast and crew, many of whom she has worked with before, and some of whom have even worked on her dad's scripts. In fact, the leading man of How the Other Half Loves, Morris West, stepped into Aladdin when Coombe's dad was diagnosed with his brain tumour. "Dad was to play the lead role, and he couldn't, so Morris stepped in." This time, West is playing the role of Frank in a play that follows three married couples and their hopelessly entwined lives. In the play, Frank is planning on promoting William, and also employs Bob. Bob is having an affair with Frank's wife, Fiona, but Frank gets the wrong end of the stick and seems to think William's wife Mary is having an affair, with Bob. "So there's a lot of confusion and misinterpretations," Coombe says. "It's a really good script." One of the main difficulties with producing How the Other Half Loves was the set, as the play takes place in two houses, which overlap on one stage. Luckily for Coombe, her husband John is a lot better at set design and building than she is. "John has real vision when it comes to the set, and I'm not visual at all. When I'm trying to say to him how I want the set to be, I find that quite difficult to get that across. I'm not very good at drawing and my pictures of the set look really terrible. "So he came up with me and we measured out what an average dining room table would be, and an average couch, just to make sure that it would all fit and work, so I'm pretty lucky to have him in the background." * How the Other Half Loves stars Morris West, Anna Mace, Terry Darby, Gillian Somers, Jarrod Campbell and Vanessa Harrison. It runs from May 2 to May 14, at New Plymouth Repertory Theatre in Vogeltown. Tickets are available from Ticketek. A new start time of 7.30pm is being trialled for this show. - Stuff