Friday 12 – Sunday 28 October 2012
fortyfivedownstairs, in association with Melbourne Festival, presented
Taki Rua Productions
Michael James Manaia
by John Broughton
Directed by Nathaniel Lees
Performed by Te Kohe Tuhaka
What do you do when the country you grew up in – the country you fought for – has no place for you?
Michael James Manaia fights a war – first with his father, then in Vietnam, from which he returns to a society made unrecognisable by the horrors he has seen. This is his story, raw, humorous and unsentimental – one that has become the voice of a lost generation.
In 1991, playwright John Broughton’s fearless reckoning with the bitter complexities of his country’s past turned this one-man play into an undisputed classic of New Zealand theatre. Now, twenty years after it first stunned audiences around the world, New Zealand’s premiere Maori theatre company, Taki Rua, brings Michael James Manaia roaring back to the international stage.
Fresh from a critically acclaimed season at the New Zealand International Arts Festival, this staging of Michael James Manaia, in the intimacy of Melbourne’s fortyfivedownstairs, packed an explosive punch. Led by a powerhouse performance from Te Kohe Tuhaka and directed by award-winning director Nathaniel Lees, Michael James Manaia presented a heart-wrenching and confronting glimpse into the all-too-recognisable darkness of cultural dislocation.
Bold, captivating, fearless
– The New Zealand Herald (full review)
High-octane, ferociously complex, ultimately devastating
– The Manawatu Standard
Confident, dynamic, and fully-charged
– The Dominion Post (full review)
Designer Daniel Williams
Lighting Designer Lisa Maule
Sound Designer/Musician Maaka McGregor
Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 3000
Dates: Friday 12 – Sunday 28 October 2012, (Auslan Interpreted performance in both English and Maori – Sat 20th Oct 4pm)
Times: Tuesday to Friday 7.30pm, Saturday 4pm & 8pm, Sunday 5pm
Prices: $45 Full / $37.50 Concession / Students $25 / Group8+ $40
Michael James Manaia was a Taki Rua Production, presented by fortyfivedownstairs in association with the Melbourne Festival. This production had been supported by Creative New Zealand, the Sunraysia Foundation, and the fortyfivedownstairs private donor program. The original production was co-produced by the New Zealand International Arts Festival 2012. This season was initiated by SaySIX Theatre.
