Nell Gwynn's hairdresser
“The production manager for Nell Gwynn, Delwyn Weatherly, had reached out to me via email in early April 2024 to see if I would be interested in assisting with the hair, which will mainly be in the form of wigs”. I replied Yes, not completely realizing that it would become a slightly more involved assignment than initially perceived, but hey, that didn’t matter at all, as I really loved working on this show!”
“As soon as I had read the script back in late April, I was completely invested in it, believed in it from the get-go, both creatively and intellectually. There was no going back, and I knew this show was going to be incredibly special.”
“It had all of the right ingredients - a great story, the richness of the language which crackled with a rare type of ‘electricity’ you don’t see too often, razor sharp comedy writing, brilliant characters who actually existed plus an insanely clever, streetwise and awe-inspiring leading heroine, the one and only -Nell Gwynn”
“Under the expert leadership of director Dennis Fenwick and the production team of Delwyn and Rob Weatherly, the stage was set.
“No one ever fully knows how things play out until you’re right inside the inner workings of a production, and some aspects can grow exponentially. Each production I’ve ever been involved with carries with it a wholly unique set of challenges and therefore, it’s like undergoing a completely new apprenticeship each time”
“The show is set in the 1660’s and is a period comedy drama, based on real people and so the brief was to provide the suitable wigs for 14 out of the 16 cast members that were appropriate for each character, in alignment with the period setting as well as additional surplus wigs for various costume, character and scene changes, laced with a little bit of creative, artistic license in between”.
“Achieving the right shape, length, colour, texture, weight, functionality and overall suitability were essential elements for each character wig, to perfectly compliment the exquisitely tailored period costumes, designed by the masterful costume designer Alf Weston and the amazing costume machinists lead by Kay Burnie. Lucky we were too, to have the great wig master himself Merv Beets, lend an occasional hand and offer valuable pieces of expert advice from time to time when it was required”
Three things needed to be achieved with the wigs, 1: Create the looks required in a visually impactful way, 2: Create them on time, 3: Create within a very tight budget. Could it be done? I never doubted it!”
To maintain a level of quality control for the wigs before and during the show season, Jason decided that the best strategy to achieve this was to attend every rehearsal he could, and to remain ever present at every single show night, before and during each run, constantly monitoring and checking every wig to ensure it looked perfect on every cast member.
“With the amount of costume changes, garments coming off and on, you can’t take anything for granted, it’s definitely not a the type of show where you hand over a wig to a cast member at the beginning of the production and say “Ok, -here’s your wig, all the best and see you next week. That would never have worked. You literally have to be there in the best interests of each wig wearing cast member and stay with them every single step of the way, right to the very end.
“Wigs help to ‘visually inform’ the audience about each character, and to help each cast member to ‘get into’ character, and therefore, elevate their performance”
Jason is no stranger to winning awards, accepting accolades or producing work for theatrical productions, having styled hair and creating head gear, hairpieces and wigs for New Zealand Fashion Week, Wendy’s Boutique and the local arena sized show- Tarnished Frocks and Divas.
“Our involvement with TF&D started quite early but it wasn’t until 2013 that our roles began to expand, becoming Artistic Directors for the hair department in 2015 and eventually overseeing the fashion direction overall by 2019 which required a team of 25 hairdressers to manage around 130 different hairstyles and headgear across 5 nights, then afterwards in March of 2020, Covid 19 hit”.
A career spanning nearly 35 years, Jason began his hairdressing journey at the start of 1990 and eventually bought the salon he had been working in, with his wife Penny in 1996. As well as running a successful salon for 28 years, both Penny and Jason became involved with local and national hairdressing competitions and have produced their own signature style of hair photography work, amassing an impressive portfolio catalogue from over the last 3 decades.
In 2005, Jason became the first New Zealand hairdresser to win the coveted TIGI Sponsored ‘International Haircutting Award’ held at the central Sydney Convention Centre, which is like a high-pressured MasterChef type haircutting event for hairdressing purists that is not for the faint hearted. No New Zealand hairdresser has won it before or since.
Jason’s hair photography work gained notable attention resulting eventually with him receiving the L’Oreal Photographer of the Year Award in 2008, and was hand selected to attend the prestigious L’Oreal Professionnel Academy located in central Paris for further international training. From 2005 to 2016, Jason became one of L’Oreal Professionnels most requested and top hairdressing educators, educating salons right across the country, presenting in all the main cities and provinces.
Throughout this period, Jason also educated hairstylists abroad in cities such as Sydney, Perth Australia and Cape Town South Africa (2013), where he and his co-presenter colleague Wayne Richardson received a standing ovation within a packed auditorium.
Towards the end of 2011, Jason was summoned to Paris yet again where he accepted, and was honored with, the Intercoiffure ‘Creator De Mode Award’, in recognition of his creative hairdressing contribution to a collection that was distributed throughout 50 different countries across the globe.
“After 11 years educating stylists across the country and abroad, I decided to take a break and focus completely on our team and salon. In 2017, due to EQC requirements with the previous building our last salon was in, we made the carefully considered decision to relocate, and with collaborators, Penny and I designed and built a completely new ADO salon in second avenue Tauranga, with all trades people involved paid on time and in full”
In 2018, the ADO salon had been the only New Zealand salon selected as one of 9 finalists in the Australasian Hair Dressing Awards for ‘Best Salon Design’ .
“Although I’ve been fortunate to experience these wonderful opportunities, it’s important to stay grounded, look after my awesome clients and share as much knowledge as I can with our team, -this is how we support them in making them grow technically and artistically.
“Penny and I have trained many apprentices and stylists over the last 35 years and some of which ended up opening their own salons. We take pride in the fact that we have helped many stylists elevate their skills, careers, industry profile, achieve their goals and the cultivation of their own clienteles through the platform of opportunities our salon has provided and also sharing and passing on what Penny & I have learnt. We still practice this to this day”
“My philosophy has always been -in order to become successful, you need to make sure that you help others around you become successful too”
“We have supported various charity organizations over the years, but we also enjoy supporting the local performing arts community too, as Penny and I feel it’s an integral part of our social fabric”
“It was my ambition to apply the exact the same principles of this philosophy to this beautifully bespoke production of Nell Gwynn, to stay ‘on message’, be generous with my time and expertise, and do my part with the wig work to help make this a successful and long remembered show”
After the curtain came down on the very last night, the champagne flowed and the celebration began, Jason, as well as his fellow volunteer artisans who all worked on the show were presented with a framed photo of the entire cast, with words of appreciation and signatures from each one, to express their gratitude and to personally say a big thank you to all of the craftspeople that gave up their time with the amount of effort and expertise that went into every artistic detail of the show.
“It doesn’t get much better than this. I wasn’t expecting anything like that at all., I was really moved and totally blown away to have received this! This is something I will cherish for years to come and will take pride of place, to be on full view display in my office at home”
“I feel really privileged and blessed to be given this opportunity to work with the stratospherically talented leads Zoe Cruse, Brendon Weatherly and the rest of the cast, as they were an absolute delight to work with, totally professional always and gave outstanding world class performances every single night! Because of this lovely cast and crew, I feel I’ve made a whole new bunch of friends! The camaraderie of this production was like nothing I’d ever seen or experienced - we were all there as a collective team looking after one another. We all believed in each other and what Nell Gwynn represented and to bring this glorious story to life!”
“This production of Nell Gwynn will forever be etched into my mind as an all time classic in the best possible way and I feel as a team, we all achieved the goal of ‘capturing lightning in a bottle’.
“Every client of mine who managed to see this production, some of which, who really know their theatre, who are often the harshest critics to please, -absolutely LOVED this show!”
“And just to prove it, -here’s a review from our lovely Sophie Garth:
“I went to see Nell Gwynn knowing little more than that she was the first female actor, and I wasn’t sure what to expect – but I left absolutely delighted. The show was brilliantly funny, with the audience laughing all the way through. The costumes and wigs were stunningly elaborate, adding to the immersive feel of the production.
The entire cast was fantastic, with each actor bringing a natural and believable charm to their role. The lead actress was especially captivating, portraying Nell with such authenticity and wit that it was easy to imagine her lighting up the stage in her own time.
It’s a testament to the talent of the cast and crew involved that the performance felt so polished and entertaining. If you’re looking for a fantastic night out, Nell Gwynn is an absolute treat- I highly recommend it!”
Sophie Garth
“So here’s to you Nell, - You beautifully brave and feisty heroine, now let’s all raise a glass so we can all celebrate your success,- bravo!”
Jason Davies
Hair & Wig Designer for the 16th Avenue Theatre Production of Nell Gwynn 2024 &
Salon Co-owner & Artistic Director of ADO
94 Second Avenue Tauranga
