Rude Awakenings

2007 DRAMA SERIES - 11 45min EPISODES

Ponsonby at War.

Ponsonby, Auckland: the natural habitat of latte-swilling ostensibly chique upwardly mobile, who drive SUVs and live in prohibitively expensive, renovated villas- the holy grail of Auckland real estate -which is exactly why Dimity Rush wants to move her family into the neighbourhood.
Dimity and her husband Stuart have been lifestylers out in rural Kumeu, West Auckland, but now Dimity has persuaded Stuart and their two sons to up sticks and move into the smartest, most pretentious suburb in Auckland.
HR manager Dimity is pushing 40 and wants to have it all before the downhill slide to middle age, while anaesthetist Stuart just wants to stop and smell the roses. But Dimity is about to get a rude awakening in the form of her new Ponsonby neighbours, the Shorts.
Arthur Short has rented in the area for more than 20 years and is a work-shy leftie who mourns the old suburb before the upwardly mobiles started moving in. His wife has just shot through with another woman, leaving him to raise two teenage daughters. To make matters worse, the house he rents is on the market and the race is on between Dimity and Arthur to purchase the property. The clash of two cultures and lifestyles is the basis for this new satirical drama that explores the country's most burning obsession -buying the perfect house in the best location. Sexy, abrasive, funny and touching, Rude Awakenings throws up the differences and conflicts between a woman who believes a suburb is a way to get ahead and man who clings to the notion of community.

Starring: Danielle Cormack, Patrick Wilson.
Producer: Michele Fantl & Garth Maxwell.
Writers: Garth Maxwell, Stephanie Johnson and Fiona Samuel.
Directors: Geoff Cawthorn, Peter Burger, Brendan Donovan, Garth Maxwell, Simon Raby.

Qantas Television Awards nominations for Best Drama & Best Script (non-factual): Fiona Samuel

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