Chatting on the couch

“Are you ready to rumble?!” Marc Anderson calls one and all to come see On The Couch. Bruce Barnard.

It's an idea bourne out of comfort, from relaxing and not really thinking about much at all.

Garden and Arts Festival organiser Marc Anderson says the idea came to him when he was least expecting it.

'I was sitting on the couch at home and I was watching the Graham Norton show and I thought: ‘That would be a really good concept. It would be fun! If we had a fun, entertaining yet informative event, it would be really good if we could do it.'”

And now, Marc is bringing On The Couch – an informative yet entertaining evening – to Baycourt on August 25.

But what is On The Couch all about?

'We start off with Ben Hurley and Michele A'Court coming on stage. They'll talk to the audience, get some banter and some laughs happening, and then get the audience into things,” says Marc.

'We have four guests with very interesting stories and talents, and they'll talk about what they know.

'Our superstar guests aren't the Brad Pitts and the Angelina Jolies but they're our local superstars of the festival.”

The four guests – Rob McGregor, Brian Watson, Ruud Kleinpaste, and Michelle McDonnell – all specialise in some area related to the upcoming Garden and Arts Festival.

'Rob McGregor is an artist from Mount Maunganui. Obviously being an artist he's very creative and very imaginative, and he's got stories as well – not only about art,” says Marc.

'Brian Watson is the founder and co-owner of Good George Brewery. Brian is passionate about developing beer and cider with natural ingredients.

'Ruud Kleinpaste is really cool, he's got the gift of the gab, and he knows what he's talking about when it comes to bugs. Bugs are synonymous with gardens and they can be sometimes seen as pests but Ruud assures everyone that without them we'd probably all die,” says Marc.

'And Michelle McDonnell is a great landscape gardener, she's designed concept gardens in the festival.

'She's a local, people know her, she's funny and she enjoys a laugh, and she'll be talking about landscape gardening and her journey.”

The guests themselves are looking forward to the evening, and even have a few quick comments up their sleeves.

'I'm looking forward to meeting the comedians and spending time on such a comfortable couch even without a remote in hand,” says Rob.

'As much as I would like to talk about the state of the economy, the state of New Zealand roads, housing shortages, investors buying the whole property ladder rather than climbing it, our failing education system and those failing in the system, our sporting achievers, obesity and suicide rate, I'll probably discuss my art and share an idea or two about that.”

Ruud says he'll be talking about how we live on a planet of biological origin 'and somehow, in recent times, we seem to have lost the operations manual of planet earth.

'Believe it or not, this festival could well contribute to bringing us back to our senses!

'The show is the perfect match of science, art and human laughter; we often seem to forget that Life shows us many facets and we don't always see those.”

But landscaper Michelle isn't too sure of one of the guests.

'I'm looking forward to talking with The Bug Man (Ruud). Of course there may be conflict as I don't want his bugs to eat my plants!”

Marc says there's a general outline to the evening, but if things stray from the straight and narrow, the team is open to improvise.

'I'm really looking forward to it.”

And On The Couch is just the warmup. It won't be the only event in the lead-up to The Garden and Arts Festival, says Marc.

'People will definitely walk away with little anecdotes that are informative and interesting.”

So don't miss it. On The Couch will be held at Baycourt on August 25 from 7.30pm. For tickets visit www.ticketek.co.nz or phone 0800 TICKETEK, or Baycourt Box Office.

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