THE MOONCAKE AND THE KUMARA
(AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND)
CO-PRODUCED BY AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL AND THE ORYZA FOUNDATION FOR ASIAN PERFORMING ARTS
5 March - 10 March 2015
Loft, Q Theatre
Writer Mei-Lin Te Puea Hansen
Director Katie Wolfe
The Mooncake and the Kumara, a moving story about a mixed-up, Māori-Chinese love affair that sprouts among rows of potatoes makes its world premiere from Thursday 5 - Tuesday 10 March during Auckland Arts Festival 2015.
Nearly ninety years ago on a New Zealand market garden, two families, one Māori and the other Chinese, became part of a romance that would uproot their lives over generations.
Layered with myth and fable, The Mooncake and the Kumara tells that story, one intertwined with history, duty, secrets and the delicate balance needed to grow families.
Told in a rich mixture of English, Māori and Cantonese, The Mooncake and the Kumara is the debut, award-winning play by Māori-Chinese playwright Mei-Lin Te Puea Hansen.
Loosely based on the story of her grandparents' relationship, the play started life as a ten minute entry, co-written with Te Puea Hansen's cousin Kiel McNaughton (Shortland Street, Auckland Daze), in Short + Sweet, where it won Best Drama.
It is unique in that it is one of the very few stories of Māori-Chinese families that have been told.
Beginning in the mid-1800s, Chinese men came to New Zealand to work in gold fields, leaving their wives and children in China. They then moved to market gardening.
At the peak in the 1960s, Chinese market gardeners produced 80 per cent of the country's green leaf vegetables.
In 2002 the Government issued a formal apology to Chinese New Zealanders for a poll tax which had been imposed on Chinese immigrants for more than 60 years.
SEASON DETAILS
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Show |
The Mooncake and the Kumara |
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Where |
The Loft, Q Theatre |
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When |
Thursday 5 March - Saturday 7 March, 7.00pm Sunday 8 March, 1.30pm & 7.00pm Monday 9 March - Tuesday 10 March, 6.30pm |
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Duration |
1hr 40min approx, no interval |
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Price |
GA $55.00 GA Friend/Conc/Group $49.00 |
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Bookings |
Book at Ticketmaster: www.ticketmaster.co.nz/ P: 09 970 9700 or 0800 111 999 |
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Information |
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Video |
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Social Media |
Facebook: facebook.com/Aklfestival Twitter: @Aklfestival |
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Media enquiries |
Meredith McGrath, Publicist P: +64 (0)9 3740317 M:+64 (0)27 4473247 E: Meredith.mcgrath@aaf.co.nz |
With support from Creative New Zealand and ASB Community Trust.