For the uninitiated overseas visitors, a Kauri is a massively big tree here in New Zealand. There are few left of a good size and they are protected.
This original play had the action around one of those trees that a ruthless woodcutter wanted to fell for profit.
Here is the whole cast, from left Peha-ane-tonga, Mustava, Grandfather, Dragon, Woodcutter, Patupaiarehe, Dwarf and the Kauri tree. You might wonder what a Dwarf and a Dragon have to do with the Kauri tree. Well my idea is that all the immigrants coming to this country did not only bring their suitcases and containers but some of the mythological creatures packed up as well and followed their humans to the new land. In this sense it was a multicultural as well as a multilingual show. The Dragon talked some Chinese, the Dwarf talked some German, the Peha-ane-tonga and the Patupaiarehe conversed in Maori and they all got along fine. Cut an hours story short the Peha-ane-tonga used his powers to give the tree the power to walk and I suppose the woodcutter learnt his lesson too. There was lots of action and a number of Marionette tricks. The ecological message was clear and the solo puppeteer was frantic to say the least.
The woodcutters wig could be lifted.
The Peha-ane-tongas eyes came out in the process of making the tree walk and the tree...
opened his eyes could talk and walk away!
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