Duffy Needs His Space – 2023
Director Jeff Szusterman, Writer: Lauren Jackson
The James Webb Space Telescope keeps sending its amazing images back to earth and Duffy can’t get enough! He is devouring every book about space that he can never really thinking it would be possible to go there at all. Little does he know that he is about to embark on an adventure that will take him to multiple worlds in the cosmos with his personal tour guide, himself from a different planet! This year’s Duffy show will see Duffy and his alter ego get into all sorts of trouble in outer space and we will see how their love of books and reading helps them find their way home.
Duffy in Bubble Trouble 2022
Our 2022 theatre programme was stripped back due to lots of schools missing out in 2021. We had one team that finished all the schools that missed out.
Duffy in Bubble Trouble – 2021
Director Jeff Szusterman, Writer: Lauren Jackson
It is March 2020 in Aotearoa, which means lock-down. Duffy and Scruffy have gone off to their Auntie’s farm because both their parents are essential workers and we are with them each step of the way as they tackle online learning, hand sanitiser, and life on the farm. Duffy finds it really tough to stay with reading through this time and we see him go on an adventure that reminds him why he loves reading and why it’s so important for him to be the reading super hero that we all know he is. The show is designed to be a light hearted reflecting on a pretty trying time for Duffy kids, with reading and books at the forefront
Duffy Meets a Coggen – 2020
Director: Jeff Szusterman, Writer: Lauren Jackson
Duffy is spending some time with his friend Bex and they are sharing their new favourite graphic novel series about hybrid animals. The twist is that Bex and her mum Lex have found a guy that can actually bring these animals to life! This means that Bex is the proud new owner of a pet coggen, Milly! A coggen is part cat, part dog and part chicken. Unfortunately, Milly is a terror who they can’t control and she makes a massive mess before escaping and causing havoc throughout the neighbourhood. Duffy and Bex must read the rest of their stories to learn more about coggens before theirs destroys the environment around them.
Duffy – Stuck in the Game! – 2019
Director: Jeff Szusterman, Writer: Lauren Jackson
It is the school holidays and Duffy is off to spend the break with his cousin Sam and Aunty Grace. Sam and Duffy don’t get to see each other much, as they live in different cities, but they talk a lot while they play games together. It turns out Sam is a bit addicted to one particular game. Duffy wants to do fun things IRL (in real life) and get some holiday reading in, but Sam is seriously lacking books. In his boredom, Duffy starts to play with mysterious family heirlooms and gets sucked right into the game! Duffy and Sam have to work together to battle creatures such as the Dismantler and the Puzzler to help Duffy escape the game before time runs out! They learn that reading and books are their only hope.
Duffy and the Cloakbay Bully – 2018
Director: Jeff Szusterman. Writer: Lauren Jackson
This year we are hanging out with Duffy at school, we meet Duffy in the cloak bay where he is dealing with some pre-match nerves. He has made it into the school soccer (football) team and the butterflies in his stomach feel as though they may be a little more than nerves, lucky Duffy has a good book to keep him company in the wharepaku! But something is wrong, Duffy meets a young girl named Melanie who is having nightmares because she keeps watching scary movies and she is also being bullied at school. Duffy vows to help Melanie and through the power of reading, he shows both Melanie and her bully that they have a lot in common, they like the same stories and have the same struggles!
Duffy and Global Girl Save the World – 2017
Director: Jeff Szusterman. Writer: Lauren Jackson
It is an unusually hot summer so Duffy has grabbed some books and headed for the shade of a tree to do some reading. He is reading some phrase books when storm clouds start to gather and he spots a small red figure flying through the clouds towards him. She crashes into Duffy and introduces herself as Millicent aka Global Girl! She has been sent from planet Zyndax to help humans with the problems caused by climate change. The only problem is that Global Girl keeps messing up because she suffers from dyslexia and when she makes a mistake, it has an effect on the whole world! Luckily she has Duffy who convinces Global Girl’s boss that her Dyslexia can be a strength and he will help her overcome the difficulties it provides. Together Millicent and Super Duffy work to fulfil Global Girl’s mission and help humans to save the planet. The show will feature puppetry and live science experiments that will add to the excitement for Duffy kids everywhere!
Duffy’s Time Travel Rescue – 2016
Director: Jeff Szusterman. Writer: Lauren Jackson
Duffy has moved to a new neighbourhood next to a rather rowdy neighbour who loves to play Elvis very loud and very late. Duffy goes to investigate and ends up befriending Ruby, an 80 year old lady who is illiterate. When Duffy learns that Ruby can’t read because she never went to school, he builds a time machine so he can go back in time to find the source of the problem. It turns out Ruby’s dad died in WWII and Ruby had to stay home and look after their farm. Duffy has to do his best to keep Ruby’s dad out of harm’s way and make sure he returns home and Ruby gets all the opportunities that we are afforded today. Through his time travelling we meet ninja’s in ancient Japan as well as Duffy as a famous writer.
Duffy and the Library Adventure – 2015
Written by Lauren Jackson. Directed by Jeff Szusterman
This year. Duffy has a job in the local community library after school when he meets a young girl called Sienna. Sienna comes into the library to escape from the rain outside but is worried that she will have to pay to stay. Duffy, along with the help of the librarian, Mrs Mundy, and some other crazy characters including Cleopatra, Harry Potter and Maui, show Sienna that the library is a great, free space for kids to spend their spare time. The adventures that you have in a library can be out of this world! All you need is your passport to the universe, your library card!
Duffy, King of Books – 2014
Written by Rachel Callinan & directed by Jeff Szusterman
This year Duffy and his friend Rosie are excitedly awaiting a visit from Duffy’s famous, rugby league playing uncle, Bingo. They are taken aback however when they begin to learn that Bingo isn’t a big fan of books and maybe can’t read at all! With ideas from the audience and Duffy’s King of Colours book, the pair go on a journey to help Bingo learn the importance of reading and the benefits it can have for everyone, everywhere. Together, Duffy and Rosie sing and stumble their way through to the realisation that everyone has a different favourite story and that each person’s story is just as awesome as the next.
Duffy Loses His Words – 2013
Written by Lauren Jackson, directed by Alison Quigan
What would happen if our favourite hero Duffy suddenly couldn’t read?
We all know Duffy loves books. Reading is his favourite thing and sharing stories with his little brother Scruffy is even better. So what happens when Duffy can’t read? You’ll soon find out…
Our reading hero Duffy is quietly sleeping when suddenly Word Maestro Wortschatz tries to steal all of Duffy’s words so he can win in the Intergalactic Word Smash. Wortschatz has come second in the word smash ten years in a row. He has decided enough is enough and he needs to do everything he can to win – which means stealing all of Duffy’s awesome words! With the help of his streetwise best friend Afi, Duffy goes head to head with Wortschatz to win his words back!
