By W. Doyle | Posted: Monday September 15, 2025
Lovelock and the Rose
During the weekend of Saturday 16 August, we saw the New Zealand premiere of a new short play about Jack Lovelock. The play titled “Lovelock and the Rose” was written by Mr Doyle and tells the story about Lovelock’s challenges to qualify for the Olympics ahead of another athlete named Randolph Rose, who was a much faster athlete.
This parallel universe play was performed in Timaru as part of a nationwide Drama competition called “Theatrefest.”
The cast of Val Pilgrim and Lachlan Crawford, along with Rose Doran from Girls High, performed two sold out performances over the weekend to enthusiastic audiences.
They also went on to win awards for their acting ability and technical video and audio production. A special credit must also go to the Timaru Boys’ High School cross country team who also make an appearance in the race videos used throughout the play.
Well done team.
Link to Timaru Herald story: https://www.thepress.co.nz/culture/360787520/one-act-madness-festival-returns-timaru-six-plays
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVdeH7cyLKA
