Labrats - the musical

Andrea Robinson and Richard Smith are about to launch a showcase for their brand new jazz musical Labrats. The synergy of this creative duo  has resulted in a compelling dark comedy told with striking music and vivid characters - a new breed of show for ‘stage rats’ and lovers of musical theatre.  

Labrats has 24 characters played by a cast of 12, most of whom are rangatahi from the greater Wellington region. The show will be brought to life as a sung/performed reading with a full cast and a 13-piece orchestra at Gryphon Theatre on the 15th and 16th of August this year.

Showcase performances do not, as a rule, have a box office income so we’re asking for your support to help cover the costs, enabling this new creative work to be staged. Our goal is to raise a minimum of $2,220 

Andrea Robinson, Composer

Raised in Tauranga, Andrea played keyboards in a variety of bands performing throughout Australasia then completed a Bachelor of Music in composition at Victoria University of Wellington. While living in Wisconsin, Andrea co-wrote the album Old Carmylie with Scott McCutcheon. Having returned to New Zealand, Andrea studied jazz piano with Charmaine Ford, sparking her love of jazz.

Andrea played in the ‘Capital City Big Band’ for a number of years then in 2017 began leading the 9-piece Wellington jazz band ‘Duke Wellington’, playing keyboards and arranging over 40 songs and instrumentals. Andrea is a music teacher and song leader, living and working in Wellington with her family. She is the accompanist for the Wellington Community Choir, teaches flute and piano, and leads the Khandallah Singers. She enjoys composing and arranging songs for both choirs. In 2001 Andrea co-wrote the children’s musical Miriam with Richard Smith before collaborating again to write Labrats.

Simon Eastwood, Director of Music

New Zealand-based composer and bass player Simon Eastwood has a diverse practice, including orchestral and chamber works, electronic pieces, and improvisation. He studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington.

He has attended residencies and festivals in the UK, Bulgaria, Estonia, Alaska, Austria, Turkey, and Lithuania. His works have been performed by artists from around the world including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, CHROMA, Now Hear Ensemble, Alia Musica, Christopher Redgate, Stroma, Ensemble Gô, the New Zealand String Quartet, and the BBC Singers.

In 2021, GRAMMY-nominated percussionist Justin DeHart included Simon’s set ‘Silver Wind, Golden Earth, White Water’ on Landfall, released by Rattle Records.

In 2024 Simon was appointed Mozart Fellow at the University of Otago/ Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. He was Musical Director for 'the OGs’, a sold-out operatic showcase at the Auckland Arts Festival that year. As a composer himself, Simon is always excited by new work, and Labrats presents a delightfully subversive Kiwi take on the musical theatre genre.

Allan Marsden, Director

Allan is a veteran director and producer, who has been involved with theatre for over 50 years, directing musicals in New Zealand and China. He has been involved in over 80 productions. He has directed many musicals and plays including Les Misérables, Evita, Blood Brothers,
Oliver, Fidder on the Roof, Little Shop of Horrors, and Jesus Christ Super Star. He has performed in a variety of New Zealand plays including, but not limited to, Trick of the Light, The Raft, Memory of Water, and ‘Bert and Maisy’.

Alan is excited to be involved in this production, especially as it is a New Zealand first. Few musicals progress through development to being performed on stage in New Zealand and he believes Labrats has a distinctly New Zealand flavour.

Richard Smith, Writer (libretto and book)

Richard was raised in Wellington and lives with his wife in Porirua. He is a prize-winning teacher, who has worked in New Zealand, the UK and Cambodia. Richard’s first foray into songwriting was in partnership with Dave Fuller, resulting in the album Dream of a Land recorded by Pete Woolston. Richard has written songs for bands, churches and schools, including musicals for children, often working in collaboration with tamariki.

His poetry has been published in many New Zealand journals such as Turbine, Takahē and Trout but more recently in Balloons Lit. Journal (Hong Kong), Relief Journal, Ekstasis, MiNDFOOD, A fine line and the anthology Now and Then (Landing Press). In 2025 he was runner up for the ‘Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems’.

Our goal is to raise a minimum of $2,220 to help towards covering the costs of venue hireage, rehearsal hall hireage, house technical crews to assist with the set-up, publishing, publicity and equipment rentals (such as orchestra stands and lights, booms and mics). 

Clearly our actual costs will exceed this amount, but we’d be grateful for any support you can offer to lighten the load. In contributing $20, $100 or more, your generosity will help us get this new jazz musical over the line so our community will have the opportunity to see our rangatahi and orchestra bring it to life on stage.

Gumption Productions is about creating excellent art and giving young singers, actors, artists, technicians and designers the opportunity to develop and to showcase their talent. This showcase is a non-profit, community grass-roots endeavour with koha entry at the door. 

The original orchestral score (for a 21-piece orchestra) and the script were initially work-shopped with high school and tertiary students from greater Wellington, supported by experienced practitioners.  

Labrats is a dark comedy musical swept along by a dynamic jazz-classical score. The story is set in ‘The Pharm’, a sequestered tower of pharmaceutical sweatshops and labs in a post-apocalyptic world. Ruled by the tyrant ‘Mother’ The Pharm is a characterised by its hierarchies, drug abuse, slavery, human lab rats and harvested organs but it’s not without hope.

The story’s protagonist, Marion, struggles to break away from a violent relationship of co-dependence to protect those she loves. Other key characters include Chrissy, Marion’s foster-daughter (a clone bred for her organs) and Sam, a privileged young activist with revolutionary ideas. These two find love but must overcome prejudice and opposition in their quest to survive.

The Labrats story addresses themes relevant to our times. These include: perceptions of beauty, the quest for longevity, power dynamics in relationships, eugenics, chemical control, misinformation, and our attitudes towards pharmaceuticals. 

After six years invested into writing and developing Labrats, we're determined to bring this unique work to life. With your support, and given the opportunity to see Labrats performed as a showcase, we believe Labrats will attract the producers it needs behind it to become a full scale stage musical production. 

Our creative team sees this production as an opportunity to encourage and cultivate the next generation of young performing artists. We are also fully invested in ensuring this show achieves standards of excellence in music and drama.