Rangitahua: The Stopping off Place

Photo: Jason O'Hara

Media release
For immediate release

Rangitahua: The Stopping off Place
Company of Giants (Whangarei)
In association with Pew Charitable Trusts
Directed by Laurel Devenie

An immersive, breathing gallery experience of stories, waiata and music amongst the works of some of Aotearoa’s finest artists

Discover a unique and profound collision of visual art and performance at a critical point in the history of the Kermadec Islands. Company of Giants (winners of Most Outstanding Ensemble in NZ Fringe 2016) return to Wellington with Rangitahua: The Stopping off Place - a live installation experience part of the Kermadec: Discoveries and Connections Exhibition at the Academy Galleries.

As Parliament is currently considering the Government’s proposal to establish a 620,000 square kilometre Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, Company of Giants brings the Kermadec inspired art to life and reveals the remarkable history of human contact with these rugged volcanic islands. The Exhibition includes artwork by Phil Dadson, Gregory O’Brien, Jason O’Hara, John Reynolds and Dame Robin White.

Woven together with live music and storytelling, audiences are transported to the untameable Islands where they meet Muriwhenua tupuna voyagers to American whalers, colonial explorers to eccentric pioneers seeking sanctuary and freedom. Many have stopped, some have settled, though few have rarely stayed.

'Fascinating....disturbing' – www.theatreview.co.nz

Company of Giants is a Whāngārei based theatre collective who specialise in new devised work, space activation, community focused processes and local collaboration. Previous works include Odyssey (first created with Northland Youth Theatre), Giant Teeth (in collaboration with Auckland Theatre Company), The Owl and the Pussycat (winner of Most Outstanding ensemble at the 2016 NZ Fringe).

“It is about honouring those quiet, detailed, human moments that are interwoven in the history of the Islands but previously untold. The experience appeals to all ages. People can choose to get right up close and look at the actors, the objects and the artwork, or stand back a bit like how different people view work in a gallery” says director, Laurel Devenie.

“It has been a fun challenge to mix the performative aspects of theatre with the representational nature of visual art - a character can be a classical museum exhibit and at once transform into a live heroine and back again. In much the same way, set pieces are also exhibited sculpture, drifting between objects in a cabinet of wonder and practical tools of story-telling” says Designer, Ash Holwell

Directed by Laurel Devenie (On The Upside Down of the World, The Owl and the Pussycat, Shortland Street), designed by Ash Holwell (The Owl and the Pussycat, MAMIL), the cast includes Kelly Johnson (Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu), Tomasin Fisher Johnson, Anthony Crum and Mataara Stoked (all The Owl and the Pussycat), and a diverse range of Company of Giants members across all ages.

Rangitahua: The Stopping Off Place plays
16 -19 APRIL @ 2pm + 7pm Daily
The Academy Galleries, Queens Wharf, Wellington
Tickets: Adult $18 / Concession $12 / Child $10
Book now at www.iTicket.co.nz or phone 0508 iTicket

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