The Hollow Men Brings Politics Up-close in Auck

Highly-acclaimed New Zealand play The Hollow Men comes to Auckland in April for a strictly limited season.

Based on Nicky Hager’s controversial book and adapted by Dean Parker, The Hollow Men is at Maidment Theatre, Auckland from Thursday 10 April to Saturday 19 April for 10 performances only.

The Hollow Men examines the months of Don Brash’s leadership of the National Party leading up to the 2005 election and is a riveting piece of new documentary theatre, a genre which is currently proving to be a phenomenon overseas. The play had its world premiere in Wellington in September last year and among many nominations won a Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for set design.

Featuring iconic New Zealand actor Stephen Papps as Don Brash, together with Michael Keir Morrissey, Lyndee-Jane Rutherford, Adam Gardiner, Sam Snedden and Arthur Meek, The Hollow Men seeks to both challenge and entertain in this relevant and topical play.

“Exciting, funny and totally absorbing” – Dominion Post

In The Hollow Men, the cast plays a variety of political movers and shakers; many of whom still walk the corridors of parliament and have influence behind the scenes today.

Director Jonathon Hendry says The Hollow Men follows an international trend for stories about real events to be played out on the stage.

“Shakespeare had great popular hits examining political events on stage with plays such as Julius Caesar and Richard the Third and in recent years, a new form of documentary theatre is selling out theatres on Broadway, at Britain’s National Theatre and at smaller fringe venues everywhere.

“Renowned British playwright David Hare (whose play Stuff Happens dramatised events leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003) says that ‘theatre using real people has become a fabulously rich and varied strand which, for many years, has been pumping red cells into the dramatic bloodstream’, and the hottest piece of theatre on the international circuit at the moment is the National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch, based on real events in Iraq.

“We’ve been performing Dean Parker’s highly entertaining adaptation of Nicky Hager’s book to packed houses. It’s fantastic to be able to bring it to Auckland”

Designed by Brian King, Jen Lal, Judith Crozier and Andrew McMillan, The Hollow Men plays at Maidment Theatre, Auckland for a strictly limited season from 10-19 April. Book by phoning 09 308 2383 or online at www.maidment.auckland.ac.nz.

ENDS

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