A celebrated play full of top Kiwi acting talent paired with a unique and haunting storyline set in Foxton will feature as part of this year's Kia Mau festival at Wellington's Hannah Playhouse.
The Mooncake and the Kumara is about a Maori-Chinese love affair that grows among rows of potatoes in
a market garden almost a century ago, and is the debut, award-winning work of Maori-Chinese playwright Mei-Lin Te Puea Hansen.
Performed in English, Maori and Cantonese, it is set nearly 90 years ago in a Horowhenua market garden where two families, one Maori and the other Chinese, become part of a romance that uproots their lives over generations. Layered with myth and fable, The Mooncake and the Kumara reveals how history, duty and secrets are all part of the delicate balance that shapes families.
The 2017 cast brings three newcomers to the production, Sam Wang, Katlyn Wong and Taupunakohe Tocker, who will perform alongside Waimihi Hotere (Boy, Burying Brian, Troilus & Cressida), Jeremy Randerson (Home by Christmas, The Blue Rose, The Young Baron) and Charles Chan (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2, Ghost Bride), all of whom performed in previous seasons.
Inspired by Hansen's grandparents' relationship, the play started life as a ten-minute entry, co-written by Hansen and her cousin Kiel McNaughton (Shortland Street, This is Piki, Find me a Maori Bride), in Auckland's Short+Sweet festival, where it won best drama.
Directed by actor and screenwriter Katie Wolfe, The Mooncake and the Kumara premiered at the Auckland Arts Festival in 2015, and subsequent tours have been delighting regional audiences ever since. Tickets are on sale now at the Hannah Playhouse, 12 Cambridge Tce, Wellington. The play runs from 21st-24th June.
As an extra, Otaki's Maoriland will also host a professionally performed reading of The Mooncake and the Kumara at the Maoriland Hub, Main St, Otaki, from 3pm on Sunday, June 25. The stage cast will make the trip to Otaki for one performance only. General admission for the reading is $5, or free for Maoriland Social Club members and students. To make a reservation email carla.m.o.vanzon@gmail.com.
The Horowhenua Chronicle has a double pass to give away to the Wellington performance of The Mooncake and the Kumara at the Hannah Playhouse, 12 Cambridge Tce, Wellington, on Saturday, June 24 at 7.30pm.
To be in to win, head over to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TheHorowhenuaChronicle/) like and share our post about the play, and enter your name in the comments below. The winner will be messaged by 4pm Thursday, June 22.
