Breaker Upperers star brings award winning solo play to Whangārei

Ana Scotney gives an award-winning performance of six characters in The Contours of Heaven.

A one-woman play coming to Whangārei this week has been described as a performance that goes far beyond language in its communicative scope, physical fluency and energetic power.

The award winning The Contours of Heaven was written by Ana Scotney (The Breaker-Upperers) and Puti Lancaster. Scotney plays the part of six characters, performed in a virtuoso delivery and woven together in exquisite and original composition, while Lancaster is director.

The Contours of Heaven is a verbatim show reliving the real stories of six young people from Te Matau a Māui in the Hawke's Bay, those stories shared with Scotney and Lancaster and turned into stunning theatre.

During the performance, Scotney combines live vocal harmonies and physical theatre to explore these people's loves, losses, hopes and fears. It couldn't be any further from her show-stealing role as the jilted Sepa in The Breaker-Upperers.

Ana Scotney as Sepa in The Breaker-Upperers.

''The kaupapa of the show is to enable audiences to sit alongside our rangatahi and hear their voices,'' Lancaster said.

Though weaving in and out of hard-hitting and diverse experiences, the show is inevitably hopeful and calls for a strengthening of tūrangawaewae, and celebrates a sense of belonging.

Audiences will be invited to stay behind for discussion after the performance.

It has earned rave reviews, including this from Theatreview: ''Without doubt this was one of the best performances I have ever seen''.

While North & South said: ''The Contours of Heaven reminds us that the future of our rangatahi, our youth and future belongs to everyone, and for that reason, everyone should go and see it.''

''With little more than an existing stairway, a mixing pedal and a mic, Scotney enlivens her characters precisely through song, beatbox, dialogue and dance. I am not the only one struck by tears,'' said The Hook.

Awards include for Best Theatre, Best Performance (Theatre), Basement Theatre Migration Award and Auckland Arts Festival Fringe Award 2018.

''Bringing Ana's show here is a very special opportunity, not only because it is literally world-class theatre created in New Zealand and we want to enable Whangārei audiences to see this calibre of contemporary work but also I hope it inspires our community to view the arts, especially theatre as a forum to empower, challenge and discuss things that are challenging us.

''I hope a lot of people see this work and are inspired to investigate their relationship to home and Whangārei,'' said Laurel Devenie (nurse Kate Hannah in Shortland Street) from Company of Giants and Oneonesix.

The Contours of Heaven is at Oneonesix, 116 Bank St, from March 28 until 31 at 7pm; Matinee 2pm March 30 and 31. $20 / $15
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2019/the-contours-of-heaven/whangarei