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Written by Anton Chekhov Adapted by Albert Belz, Tainui Tūkiwaho, Philippa Campbell and Colin McColl CAST Louisa (Lulu) — Alison Bruce Pōata Jones — Rāwiri Paratene Tips — Ian Mune Wiremu — Te Kohe Tūhaka Charlotta — Hera Dunleavy Leo — Andrew Grainger Wikitōria — Maria Walker Kōwhai — Krystal-Lee Brown Peter Trafford — Eli Kent Matu — Joe Dekkers-Reihana Anna — Indigo Paul Himiona — Justin Rogers Passer-by — Wayne Hapi The Dog — Pipi CREATIVE Director — Colin McColl Set and Lighting Designer — Tony Rabbit Costume Designer — Elizabeth Whiting Sound Composer — John Gibson PRODUCTION Production Manager — Joel Crook Company Manager (Maternity Cover) — Eliza Josephson-Rutter Stage Manager — Chanelle Muirhead Assistant Stage Manager — Natasha Hoyland Technical Manager — Kevin Greene Lighting Operator — Zach Howells Props Master — Becky Ehlers Set Construction — 2Construct AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR HELP WITH THIS PRODUCTION: Jeremy Birchall, Emma Newborn. The Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard is the fifth Auckland Theatre Company mainstage production for 2017/18 and opened on June 14 at ASB Waterfront Theatre. The production is approximately 2 hours 30 minutes long and includes a 20-minute interval. Please remember to switch off all mobile phones and noise-emitting devices.
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Director Colin McColl
KIA ORA. The Cherry Orchard is a play I love. I know it well. I have directed it several times, read quite a few different versions and seen many productions of it throughout the world. This adaptation reflects the way in which the play speaks to me now as a 21st-century New Zealander. Huge thanks to my co-adaptors, my design team and our cast of terrific actors for going on this journey with me.
“ONE CANNOT fail to appreciate Chekhov’s art as a dramatist in all its subtlety, complexity and originality. The haphazard glimpses of the lives of the apparently separate characters build up logically into a coherently whole pattern; the undramatic lack of external action conceals a wealth of happenings in the inner world of each; the seemingly ordinary grows significant; the trivial important; the tragic, as in life, is sometimes humorous, the humorous pathetic, the pathetic comic, the comic tragic; the specifically Russian turns out to be universally applicable. Chekhov emerges as a sincere and sensitive dramatist with no special axe to grind for or against a class. A doctor by profession, he treated all human beings evenly, analysing objectively and without cruelty, prescribing no panacea, for he was no propagandist and no reformer. He believed that, as an artist, his task was not to solve the problems of life but to present life as he saw it.” – Elizabeth Hill, Professor of Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge
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Director’s Note
eat. drink. meet.
MONDAY – FRIDAY: 8AM – 2PM. PRE-SHOW DINING: TWO HOURS BEFORE EVENING PERFORMANCES | PHONE (09) 632 1962
Set & Lighting Designer Tony Rabbit
WHEN I WAS insulating our Wellington house (built in 1950), I removed a built-in wardrobe from what had been a kid’s bedroom and, at the back of it, was this original wallpaper... We wouldn’t see this graphic design today but, in the context of the time, it was common. Although we moved beyond directly referencing this image in the setting you see on stage, it sparked a series of initial design discussions and explorations for this Auckland Theatre Company adaptation of The Cherry Orchard, the reasons for which will become obvious as you experience the production.
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Creative’s Note
COMMUNIT Y � CULTURE � HEALTH � BEAUT Y � ST YLE DÉCOR � TR AVEL � FO OD � DRINK � NET WORK
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Design Notes
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Sound Composer John Gibson
ANTON CHEKHOV had a surgeon’s knowledge of himself, other people and drama. In his writing, he wanted to do without the old tricks of the trade. He hated cliché and falsity, and lived his life doing the hard work of removing them from himself and his dramatic technique. This means no goodies and baddies, no melodrama, no big stories. In this play, the gun is merely a joke. So, when you remove all the usual conventions of writing, how on earth do you keep the play going? The answer is by music. Every character in the Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard has a unique rhythm and tempo: twelve characters – a chamber orchestra of soloists – with Kōwhai as a flute, Louisa a violin, Leo a bassoon and Pōata a French horn. It’s all about structure and contrast; there’s a symphony lying behind it. The first act is an allegro as all the characters and ideas arrive but, in typically brilliant fashion, the tempo slows down as tiredness sets in. The second act is a leisurely hot summer's night, an adagio or largo. The next act is a dance movement, a rondo, and the last act is driven by the impatient rustle of leaving: a song form with a double coda, the first tragic, the second comic. Given that Chekhov was nearing the end of his life, the freshness and structural invention, the virtuoso sense of ensemble change and the collective sense of speed is astonishing.
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Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard
CHARACTER LIST Setting: A sheep station estate in the Central North Island, mid-1970s
Louisa co-owner of the family estate Leo, her brother co-owner of the family estate Anna, her daughter a student Wikitōria, her adopted daughter the housekeeper Tips former orchard manager, now odd-jobs man Peter Trafford former teacher of Grish, Louisa’s deceased son Wiremu a successful businessman Kōwhai, his niece daily help at the homestead Himiona cowman-gardener on the estate Matu a local lad who has accompanied Louisa overseas Charlotta a European friend of Louisa, living at the homestead Pōata Jones a neighbouring farmer, friend of the family Passer-by a local returning from the Land March
Creator unknown: Photograph of the homestead at Mount Vernon Station, near Waipukurau. Ref: PAColl-8635. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
Character List
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ALISON BRUCE
RĀWIRI PARATENE
IAN MUNE
CAST ALISON BRUCE Louisa (Lulu) Alison Bruce has worked extensively in theatre, film and television over the course of her career. Her theatre highlight, undoubtedly, is the seven-hour epic, Angels in America. In the last few months, she has played Cassius in Pop-up Globe Auckland’s Julius Caesar, worked behind the scenes on Nightsong’s Te Pō, taken thousands of people on a fantastical voyage of discovery in the World of WearableArt 2017, appeared in Nell Gwynn for Auckland Theatre Company and in Kororāreka: The Ballad of Maggie Flynn for Red Leap Theatre. This will be Alison’s third outing with The Cherry Orchard. She is working her way through the women’s roles, having played Anya (Anna) and Varya (Wikitōria) and now Ranevskaya (Louisa), which she is very excited about! RĀWIRI PARATENE Pōata Jones Forty-five years in the entertainment industry have seen Rāwiri Paratene win acclaim as an actor, a writer, a director, a producer and a tutor in theatre, television, radio and film. A career highlight for Rāwiri has been his involvement with Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in London over the past 10 years. This has included producing and performing in The Māori Troilus & Cressida, which opened the Globe to Globe Festival in 2012, and joining the ensemble of the history-making Hamlet World Tour, which travelled to every country on the planet (197 in all) from 2014 to 2016. His film highlights include the role of Koro in Whale Rider and his award-winning performance in The Insatiable Moon. Rāwiri’s television highlights include being a presenter on Play School, and performing and writing sketches for the comedy series More Issues. Rāwiri’s awards include the Robert Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago in 1983, TV and Film Awards for Best Drama Writer for Erua (1989), Best Actor in Dead Certs (1995) and Best Performance in a Short Film for The Graffiti of Mr Tupaia (2008). In 2005, he co-devised and starred in Children of the Sea, which won the coveted Spirit of the Fringe and Fringe First Awards at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2013, he became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM). IAN MUNE Tips Ian Mune began his professional acting career as a founding member of Downstage Theatre in Wellington in 1964, spent two years with the Welsh Theatre Company and then became a member of the Mercury Theatre Company, where he also taught and directed. After co-writing (with Arthur Baysting) and acting in New Zealand movie Sleeping Dogs, he focused on acting, writing and directing for film and TV before returning to the stage to play King Lear in 1996 and Big Daddy in Colin McColl’s Downstage Theatre production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Ian directed Once on Chunuk Bair for Auckland Theatre Company in 2014. He is enjoying returning to the stage and working with Colin again for ATC.
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Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard
TE KOHE TŪHAKA
HERA DUNLEAVY
ANDREW GRAINGER
TE KOHE TŪHAKA Wiremu A graduate of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, Te Kohe Tūhaka’s many acting credits for theatre include Michael James Manaia, The Brothers Size, Paua and Māui – One Man Against the Gods. His film credits include Sionne’s 2, Billy, What Really Happened: Waitangi and Eruption. His television credits include Stolen, Native Diet, Te Matatini o Te Ra, Go Girls and Shortland Street. HERA DUNLEAVY Charlotta A graduate of Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, Hera Dunleavy has worked for all of New Zealand’s professional theatre companies. Highlights include The Master Builder, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Proof, Top Girls and The Blue Room. Shows with Auckland Theatre Company include Uncle Vanya, God of Carnage, The Crucible, August: Osage County, Calendar Girls, Midnight in Moscow, Rupert, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Hera’s most-recent appearance was in Nell Gwynn. ANDREW GRAINGER Leo Andrew Grainger’s career as an actor began in the 1980s in England. Highlights from the UK include: performing in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and South Pacific in London’s West End; appearing on TV’s Pride and Prejudice, Heartbeat, EastEnders, The Bill and The Governor; appearing in feature films Mean Machine, In the Beginning and David Copperfield; and working alongside Robert Redford in Spy Game. After emigrating to New Zealand, Andrew has rapidly built up an impressive collection of credits including The Breaker Upperers, Westside, 6 Days, The Shannara Chronicles, When We Go to War, The Cult, Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, Spartacus, Super City, The Dark Horse, Ash vs Evil Dead, Meg, 25 April, and Making of the Mob 2: Chicago. For Auckland Theatre Company, Andrew’s most recent credits include Nell Gwynn, Billy Elliot the Musical, The Ladykillers, Jesus Christ Superstar, Guys and Dolls, Awatea, Once on Chunuk Bair, Chicago, The Heretic, Anne Boleyn, Little Shop of Horrors and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Andy is delighted that he is appearing in his first Chekhov – at last.
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MARIA WALKER
KRYSTAL-LEE BROWN
ELI KENT
INDIGO PAUL
MARIA WALKER Wikitōria Maria Walker’s debut with Auckland Theatre Company was in 2005 with The Bach, followed by The Pohutukawa Tree in 2009 and, now, the Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard. This marks the third occasion on which she has worked alongside Colin McColl. Since graduating from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 2009, she has been in pursuit of TV and film roles with Gail Cowan Management in Auckland. Most recently, she has performed in feature film Waru and soon-to-be released Hawaiian feature film Ni’ihau. After a long hiatus from the stage, Maria is to be reunited with theatre alongside this beautifully talented cast in Chekhov’s adored work. KRYSTAL-LEE BROWN Kōwhai Krystal-Lee Brown’s television career began in 2013 on the award-winning children’s bilingual Māori language show Pūkana. Her debut professional theatre appearance was in the 2016 Matariki season of Briar Grace-Smith’s, Purapurawhetū, performed for the first time in both te reo Māori, and English alongside Antonio Te Maioha and Rāwiri Paratene. Since then, she has gone on to perform in Gary Henderson’s classic theatre thriller Mo and Jess Kill Susie – E Kore a Muri E Hōkia, an award-winning adaptation performed and toured in te reo Māori. Her most-recent television and film credits include Waru, Rere Te Whiu, KTK – Next Level, Cube and Pōtae Pai and she has been working as a journalist for TVNZ. ELI KENT Peter Trafford Eli Kent is a writer, a director and an actor in theatre and film. He’s a recipient of multiple accolades for writing, including the Bruce Mason Award for emerging playwrights and the New Zealand Arts Foundation New Generation Award. He wrote and performed in the play The Intricate Art of Actually Caring which toured extensively throughout New Zealand. In 2010, he completed his Master of Art degree in Scriptwriting at Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters. Recently, he wrote and acted in The Playground Collective’s All Your Wants and Needs Fulfilled Forever, which played at London’s VAULT Festival following successful runs in Auckland and New York. JOE DEKKERS-REIHANA Matu Joe Dekkers-Reihana is half Dutch (Maas en Waal region) and half Māori (Ngāpuhi). He has been a performer in Wellington for nearly a decade and has toured up and down the country with different companies. He has performed in multiple shows with theatre companies The Bacchanals, Tawata Productions and Taki Rua. In 2013, he won the Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. Joe trained under Willem Wassenaar who is an all-time inspiration to him.
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Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard
JOE DEKKERS-REIHANA
JUSTIN ROGERS
WAYNE HAPI
PIPI
INDIGO PAUL Anna Indigo Paul is an Auckland-based actor and writer. She studied in New York at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts before returning to New Zealand. Since then, she has written and performed a solo show, Looking For America and started a short fiction podcast, Tangential Listings. Screen credits include Shortland Street and Sunset Song. Indigo’s writing has recently been shortlisted for the Playwrights b4 25 playwriting competition. The Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard is her first main bill production with Auckland Theatre Company and she is very excited to be part of bringing such a complex piece of work to the stage. JUSTIN ROGERS Himiona Justin Rogers trained at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School and graduated in 2015. Some of his highlights since graduating include playing Jamie in the two-hander musical The Last Five Years and touring the show Matariki with The Court Theatre, performing to more than 10,000 school children in Canterbury. Justin first worked with Auckland Theatre Company in the show Māui Me Te Rā, touring as part of the Mythmakers programme to schools across Auckland. Most recently, Justin starred in the much-anticipated sequel to Krishnan’s Dairy, playing James in Indian Ink’s new twohander Mrs Krishnan’s Party. WAYNE HAPI Passer-by Wayne Hapi made his feature film debut in the awardwinning New Zealand film The Dark Horse. Since this, Wayne has been the lead in Broken and featured in Waru. When Wayne isn’t acting, he is helping the homeless and young, disadvantaged people integrate back into the community. Wayne is also an accomplished musician. The Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard is Wayne’s debut performance for Auckland Theatre Company. PIPI The Dog Pipitama is a Jack Russell cross who comes from a theatrical family. His mum, dad and sister are all involved in the theatre industry but the Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard will be Pipi’s first play for Auckland Theatre Company. He has had a dramatic four years surviving lime-sulphur poisoning, a spider bite, leaping out of a car window on a busy, four-lane road, being dognapped and spending seven days missing from home. Pipi has a beautiful nature and loves humans, especially his fellow cast members.
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IN REHEARSAL
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ANTON CHEKHOV
COLIN McCOLL
CREATIVE ANTON CHEKHOV Playwright Russian writer Anton Chekhov was a master of the modern short story and a leading playwright of the late 19 th and early 20th centuries. Through plays such as The Seagull and Uncle Vanya, he explored the depths of human nature, the hidden significance of everyday events and the fine line between comedy and tragedy. Chekhov wrote many of his greatest works in the last few years of his life, when he concentrated primarily on mood and characters, showing that they could be more interesting than were the plots. His characters’ stories are very specific, painting detailed pictures of pre-revolutionary Russian society; they are also timeless. From the late 1890s onward, Chekhov collaborated with Konstantin Stanislavski and the Moscow Art Theatre on productions of his plays, including his masterpieces The Seagull (1895), Uncle Vanya (1897), The Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904). COLIN McCOLL Direction Colin McColl has directed for the Norwegian National Theatre and the Dutch National Theatre, as well as leading New Zealand and Australian theatre companies. He is the only New Zealand director to be invited to present his work (Hedda Gabler) at the official Edinburgh Festival. The production played to great acclaim and also was presented at other festivals around the world. Colin has won Best Director at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards several times – including for his Circa Theatre production of A Doll’s House. In 2015, Colin directed Emily Perkins’ new version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House for Auckland Theatre Company. Colin has directed Chekhov plays for all major New Zealand theatre companies – including The Seagull and Uncle Vanya in the earlier years of Auckland Theatre Company. He has directed approximately 50 productions for Auckland Theatre Company. His opera-directing credits include Quartet (New Zealand International Arts Festival 2004), La Bohème (Wellington City Opera), The Italian Girl in Algiers, The Marriage of Figaro and The Prodigal Child (NBR New Zealand Opera). In 2009, he remounted his production of The Italian Girl in Algiers for the Scottish Opera. In November 2007, Colin was honoured for his artistic achievements and excellence at the eighth annual Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Awards. He was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in June 2010. TAINUI TŪKIWAHO Adaptation Tainui Tūkiwaho has worked as a director, a producer, a writer and an actor since graduating from Unitec in 2001. He has made feature-length and short films, has created innovative theatre works and is continually cast by major television and film-making companies. Tainui is fluent in te reo Māori and has worked with many of New Zealand’s Māori language production companies; he has created Te Pou theatre and Māori-language-driven company Te Rēhia Theatre.
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Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard
TAINUI TŪKIWAHO
ALBERT BELZ
PHILIPPA CAMPBELL
ALBERT BELZ Adaptation Albert Belz’s career in the arts originally began in acting before he turned his hand to writing for stage and screen. He is an award-winning playwright and his unique voice has crossed many datelines and divides; he has performed in many venues across the world, from London and Paris, to New York and Sydney. Issues ranging from class, ethnicity and sexual politics to Gothic serial killers and religion resonate through his words. Albert has held writing residencies in Le Quesnoy (Northern France) and both The University of Waikato and Victoria University. This year, he will be one of the writers in residence at the University of Canterbury. His latest play, Cradle Song, a horror set in South-west Ireland, recently won The Adam NZ Play Award for Best Play by a Māori Playwright 2018. Another play, Astroman, is being produced by Melbourne Theatre Company and The Court Theatre in Christchurch and will open in both cities on the same evening this year. His latest television comedy series Tongue Tied, will be broadcast on Māori Television during Matariki 2018. Albert has been lecturing at MIT in Capstone Performing Arts, Writing for Screen and Writing for Stage since 2016. PHILIPPA CAMPBELL Dramaturgy and Adaptation Many years ago, in her graduation production of The Cherry Orchard at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School, Philippa Campbell played Lyubov Ranevskaya. Her work with Auckland Theatre Company began as dramaturg for Colin McColl’s premiere production of The Wife Who Spoke Japanese in Her Sleep by Vivienne Plumb. Since then, she has been involved in debut ATC productions of work by Emily Perkins, Briar Grace-Smith, Grace Taylor, Pip Hall, D.F. Mamea, Luke Di Somma and Greg Cooper, Arthur Meek and Eli Kent. One of Aotearoa’s leading film producers, Philippa most recently produced Jane Campion’s acclaimed international television series Top of the Lake: China Girl.
Creative
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TONY RABBIT
ELIZABETH WHITING
JOHN GIBSON
TONY RABBIT Set and Lighting Design Tony Rabbit’s first design for Auckland Theatre Company was Daughters of Heaven, performed at the Watershed Theatre in 1993. ATC audiences last saw his work in A Doll’s House in 2015. ELIZABETH WHITING Costume Design Elizabeth Whiting has designed costumes for New Zealand Opera, Auckland Theatre Company, Silo Theatre, The Court Theatre, Red Leap Theatre, Okareka Dance Company, Black Grace, Douglas Wright Dance Company, Michael Parmenter, Atamira Dance Company, Shona McCullagh, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Pop-up Theatre London the Edinburgh Festival and the World of WearableArt core show in Wellington for six years. In 2010, she won the Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for Costume Design for The Arrival (Red Leap Theatre). She represented New Zealand at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space in 2003 with her costumes for Falstaff and again, in 2007, with a team of designers who created the exhibition Blow. Her designs for The Marriage of Figaro have just been presented in Seattle, and her costume designs for Tosca in Perth had a great reception. Recently, Elizabeth has designed Uncle Vanya (The Court Theatre), Kororāreka: The Ballad of Maggie Flynn (Red Leap Theatre), Kiss the Sky (The New Zealand Dance Company), Blonde Poison and Nell Gwynn (Auckland Theatre Company). Her costume designs were seen in the successfully remounted productions of Hudson & Halls Live! and The Mooncake and the Kumara in 2017. This year, she is designing for La Bohème for New Zealand Opera. JOHN GIBSON Sound Composition John Gibson has been composing original music for New Zealand theatre, film, dance and television since 1980. During that time, he has composed more than 100 scores and sound designs for theatre. In 2008, he received a Qantas Film and Television Award for his score for Vincent Ward’s film Rain of the Children. He has performed in Edinburgh in a comedy he wrote and directed called Gordon Sixpence: He is Music. John is currently adapting a book by Alain de Botton for the stage.
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Creative
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TE RIRI PĀKEHĀ – THE WHITE MAN’S ANGER:
THE DESTRUCTION OF MĀORI IDENTITY by Tony Simpson
Many Māori were afraid to prefer claims, however, terrified that if they went near the settlements they would be shot or hanged.
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Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard
WITH THREE MILLION acres from confiscations under its belt, the new Government was away to a flying start. Surprising as it may seem, however, a good portion of the confiscated land was returned to the original owners: 300,000 acres in the Waikato, 250,000 in Taranaki and half a million in Hawke’s Bay. Any Māori who could prove that he had not been in arms could prefer a claim within six months of the end of hostilities and have his land returned. Many Māori were afraid to prefer claims, however, terrified that if they went near the settlements they would be shot or hanged. Others were not aware of their rights and the settlers did not hurry to inform them so that, upon their return to the land from which they had fled to escape settler and military depredations, they found their claims out of time and their land sold. But much land was returned – and as promptly lost. The demoralised tribesmen found that the land that had been confiscated was tribal, but that the land returned to them was under individual title or other form of identification. It was easy to alienate. Many returned to their land to find their houses pillaged and their livestock stolen. They were not encouraged by the settlers to apply to the magistrates for their return. Several cases were reported stating that those who persisted were threatened by their neighbours and stood over and bullied by the magistrates themselves. They had no crops and, to buy food and seed, they had to capitalise on their one asset – the land newly returned to them. In this way, another 557,000 acres of land found its way into Pākehā hands in Taranaki alone in the year immediately after the end of hostilities. In this way, too, the Auckland land-jobber J. C. Firth came into the possession of 50,000 acres of prime Ngāti Hauā land. It was a splendid time for land agents. But the principal device in the hands of settlers was the Native Land Act of 1865, which established anew the Native Land Court. This was confiscation with a legal countenance. The Native Land Court established under this Act laid down the basis on which the relations between the two races were to be conducted for the next 100 years. It was in its effects one of the most pernicious measures ever enacted by a settler community to get its hands on the estate of the native inhabitants. Of the settlers’ two aims, that of direct purchase was achieved in 1892. But, as law, it remained a dead letter
Te Riri Pākehā – The White Man’s Anger: The Destruction of Māori Identity
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Donald McLean purchasing land at Wairoa, Hawke’s Bay. Rhodes, Beatrice, fl 1978: Photographs. Ref: PA1-q-193-053. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
unless, in practice, there was individuation of title. This the new law achieved. The trick was to ensure that communal rights did not stand in the way of sale to settlers, and the manner in which the court conducted itself was all that settlers might wish. Its first judge was Fenton, the squatter who made himself unpopular a few years earlier in the Waikato where he had tried to use his position as a magistrate to turn his illegal lease into a freehold title. Under his direction, the court laid down certain guidelines for its operation. The right to apply for a title was not confined to an owner. Any 'interested' party could force a hearing, out of which there was bound to be issued a certificate of title. Interested parties included anybody who could claim to have made a purchase, no matter how tenuous that claim might be. It was necessary, therefore, only to suborn one of the communal owners into accepting money which might be constructed as a payment for land and a land-jobber could force a hearing. This was not difficult in the demoralised climate following the wars. Many of the rangitira had been killed, and the framework of traditional society was in ruins. The consumption of alcohol rose markedly, as always in a time of social crisis. It was,
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Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard
therefore, easy enough to extend credit to a chief for the purchase of whisky and then to foreclose and to induce him, under threat and often intoxicated, to sign away his ownership. Once the hearing was forced in this way, the other communal owners were at a disadvantage. The land in dispute had to be surveyed, whether or not they liked it; this was a lengthy and costly business – surveyors, in league with local land agents and merchants, often saw to that. The owners had to attend the hearing and these hearings were held not on the land itself, where the owners lived, but in a town often many miles distant. If the parties did not appear they were automatically excluded from the certificate of title eventually issued. This broke all but the most powerful of the local land leagues. If the hearing was boycotted, that did not prevent the court from issuing a title, even though it knew perfectly well that the major owners were not being named and their interests not being protected. The native owners were forced into court, or the land would go automatically to those wishing to sell it. But once they were in court their difficulties had only just begun. If there was a dispute over the proposed sale the would-be owners usually hired a solicitor. This forced the owners to do likewise.
Te Riri Pākehā – The White Man’s Anger: The Destruction of Māori Identity
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The traditional pattern of use and ownership rights in Māori land was immensely complex. This would all take months to unravel, and the case would then possibly go on to the Supreme Court, or even the Court of Appeal. All this time, a large group of Māori owners had to remain in the town where the court was sitting and support themselves. The shopkeepers and
The owners of the land... were obliged to sell their land, at a knockdown price, to meet their debts. hotelkeepers, often working in collusion with the land agents, were happy to advance them sums for their support and then, when the hearing was finally over, they presented the owners of the new title with a bill, usually grossly padded and at ruinous interest rates. The owners of the land then found to their horror that these expenses, together with those of the surveyor and of their lawyer (who also was often in league with the land agent) – expenses incurred merely to establish the right to what they already owned – were of such magnitude that they were obliged to sell their land, at a knockdown price, to meet their debts. This, of course, was precisely what the land agents had had in mind when they forced a hearing. Many Māori owners, faced with this prospect, sold their land straight away rather than go through such an ordeal, and some sales were actually conducted under an open threat by the land agent that if the Māoris would not sell then the case would be taken to the court with the deliberate intention of ruining them. Extract from Simpson, T (1979). Te Riri Pākehā – The White Man’s Anger: The Destruction of Māori Identity. Alister Taylor Publishers.
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Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard
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ATC Supporting Acts
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WHAT’S ON AT ASB WATERFRONT THEATRE JULY NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL July 19 – August 5 We welcome back the New Zealand International Film Festival for its second year at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. The theatre is fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology for a fantastic film festival experience. Programme coming soon!
AUGUST Auckland Theatre Company ASB season of
FILTHY BUSINESS by Ryan Craig
From August 14 East London, 1968. Yetta Solomon is the quintessential refugee who survived the un-survivable. Having built a mini-empire out of nothing, she takes no prisoners and suffers no fools. Hysterically funny and historically fascinating, Filthy Business is a towering tribute to the entrepreneurial outsiders who have become the beating heart of every modern society.
SEPTEMBER Auckland Theatre Company Giltrap Audi season of
RENDERED by Stuart Hoar
From September 18 In an unnamed Middle Eastern desert, Major Aria and her mercenary accomplice are on a secret mission to meet up with a New Zealander who’s defected to ISIS with his Arab wife. Meanwhile, at the Auckland Writers Festival, kindergarten teacher Miranda receives an offer she can’t refuse from a charming American visitor. Soon these six lives are inextricably entwined in a worldwide web of intrigue, danger and espionage.
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Kensington Swan season of The Cherry Orchard
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SET BUILDERS
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STAGING
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BUILDING SERVICES
matt munford 2construct.co.nz 021 554 078
143A TARGET ROAD, WAIRAU VALLEY, NORTH SHORE CITY 0627, AUCKLAND POSTAL ADDRESS 71 SMALE STREET, PT CHEVALIER, AUCKLAND 1022 TEL 09 443 3099 EMAIL twoconstruct@ihug.co.nz www.2construct.co.nz
kelpls.co.nz
SET BUILDERS
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STAGING
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BUILDING SERVICES
chook birch 021 776 105
BEAUTY AND PRODUCT SPONSORS
143A TARGET ROAD, WAIRAU VALLEY, NORTH SHORE CITY 0627, AUCKLAND POSTAL ADDRESS 71 SMALE STREET, PT CHEVALIER, AUCKLAND 1022 TEL 09 443 3099 EMAIL twoconstruct@ihug.co.nz www.2construct.co.nz
OFFICIAL MAKE-UP SPONSOR M.A.C cosmetics offers a large selection of make-up, skin-care products and nail-care items. Visit Smith & Caughey’s or one of the M.A.C stores: St Lukes, Britomart or Botany Downs.
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TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS
PROJECT FUNDERS
PROJECT PARTNERS
MAJOR FUNDERS
FOUNDATION PARTNERS
T H A N KS TO T H E S U P P O R T E R S O F
THE CHARTWELL TRUST LOU & IRIS FISHER CHARITABLE TRUST PUB CHARITY SIR JOHN LOGAN CAMPBELL RESIDUARY ESTATE SKYCITY AUCKLAND COMMUNITY TRUST
FOUNDING BENEFACTORS, PATRONS AND DONORS
AUCKLAND THEATRE COMPANY Artistic Director Colin McColl ONZM Chief Executive Lester McGrath Mana Whenua Cultural Advisor Herewini Easton Creative Development Associate Director: Lynne Cardy Literary Manager: Philippa Campbell Youth Arts Coordinator: Nicole Arrow Production and Premises Production Manager: Joel Crook Company Manager (Maternity Cover): Eliza Josephson-Rutter Venue Technical Manager: Josh Bond Venue Technician: Johnny Chen Technician: Zach Howells Marketing and Communications Marketing and Communications Manager: Natasha Gordon Publicists: Siobhan Waterhouse and Vanessa Preston Graphic Designer: Wanda Tambrin Marketing Campaigns Manager: Nicola Brown Digital Marketing Coordinator: Brad Fisher Visitor Experience Ticketing and Front of House Manager: Gary Barker Food and Beverage Manager: Richard Pepper Front of House Manager: Ralph Corke Ticketing Administrator: Paul Vintner Ticketing Executive: Melissa Handley FOH Supervisors: Cally Castell, Eliot Youmans
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Development and Venue Sales Development Manager: Emma Burton Development Coordinator: Simon Tate Events and Sales Manager: Bernadette Norfo Event Coordinator: Romana Trego Business Development Manager: Geeling Ching Administration and Finance Finance Manager: Kerry Tomlin Senior Accountant: Nick Tregerthan Senior Accounts Administrator: Michelle Speir Company Administrator: Jan Pitout Administration Coordinator: Jade McCann Executive Administrator: Natasha Pearce BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair: Gordon Moller ONZM Jonathan Bielski Vivien Bridgwater Karen Fistonich Isaac Hikaka Katie Jacobs Scott Kerse Derek McCormack Graeme Pinfold We acknowledge The Theatre Foundation Trustees for the philanthropic support provided to Auckland Theatre Company activities. CONTACT ATC 487 Dominion Road, Mt Eden PO Box 96002 Balmoral, Auckland 1342 P: 09 309 0390 F: 09 309 0391 atc@atc.co.nz atc.co.nz
Supporters of ASB Waterfront Theatre
FOUNDING CORPORATE PARTNERS PLATINUM PARTNERS GOLD PARTNERS SILVER PARTNERS
ATC PATRONS Margot and Alastair Acland Margaret Anderson John Barnett Betsy and Michael Benjamin Greg Blanchard and Carol Weaver Michelle Boag Adrian Burr and Peter Tatham Julie and Brian Cadzow Paul and Barbie Cook Roger and Maryanne Dickie Kim and Annette Ellis Trevor and Jan Farmer Stephen and Virginia Fisher Cameron Fleming Michael Friedlander Dame Jenny Gibbs Michael and Stephanie Gowan Ross and Josephine Green Stuart Grieve and Antonia Fisher Sue Haigh Rod and Penelope Hansen Allyson and Paul Harvey Anne and Peter Hinton Michael and Dame Rosie Horton Rod and Julie Inglis Sally and Peter Jackson Robert Johnston and Stella McDonald Len and Heather Jury Brian and Jan Keene Ross and Paulette Laidlaw Margot and Paul Leigh Sir Chris and Dayle Lady Mace Peter Macky and Yuri Opeshko Jackie and Phillip Mills Michael Moore and Andrew Gelonese Christine and Derek Nolan Denver and Prue Olde Heather Pascual Barby Pensabene Hon. Dame Judith Potter Maria Renhart Robyn and Malcolm Reynolds Fran and Geoff Ricketts Mark and Catherine Sandelin
Mike Smith and Dale d’Rose Philippa Smith-Lambert and Chris Lambert Joanne Smout and Janmarie Thompson Gilli Sutton Lady Tait Julie and Russell Tills Kit Toogood and Pip Muir Simon Vannini and Anita Killeen Susan and Gavin Walker Sir James Wallace Ian Webster and Jianni Felpas Dona and Gavin White Fran Wyborn Annemarie Yannaghas ATC 2017/18 SUPPORTING ACTS Our Standing Ovation Supporters Sandy and Alan Bulmer Rob Nicoll Matthew Olde and Jacqui Cormack Brian and Pam Stevenson Scott and Louise Wallace Our Take A Bow Supporters Shane Compton Lex Forrest Nick and Steph Francis Sandra Greenfield Rosemary Langham Caroline List Jocelyn Lowe Mike and Debbie Whale ATC welcomes Supporting Acts donations throughout the year. CONTACT BOX OFFICE ASB Waterfront Theatre 138 Halsey Street, Wynyard Quarter Subscriber Hotline: 09 309 3395 General Box Office: 0800 ATC TIX (282 849) boxoffice@atc.co.nz
Auckland Theatre Company
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"HYSTERICALLY FUNNY" – THE INDEPENDENT
S TA R R I N G
JENNIFER LUDLAM JODIE DORDAY ANDREW GRAINGER DIRECTED BY
COLIN McCOLL