Taki Rua return to Downstage

“history may not repeat, but it sure does rhyme a lot.” Mark Twain
Taki Rua return to Downstage

“Ko au te awa, Ko te awa ko au”
“I am the river, The river is me”
Whakatauki/ Proverb from iwi of the Whanganui region

Taki Rua, the award winning producers of Strange Resting Places and Te Karakia return to Downstage with Mark Twain and Me in Māoriland.

Inspired by true events! Weaving historical fact with magical realism, Mark Twain & Me in Māoriland fuses the spaghetti western and the epic love story in a bullet-ridden, comic tale set amidst the saloons and waterways of Whanganui 1895; a combustible time of mercenaries, prophets, vaudeville and self serving mayoralty.

Garrisons are on high alert with rumors of an uprising; dynamite-blasts clear passage up river for steam boat travel. For the high minded, low-lifers in town, double dealing opportunism is rife, and the Savage Club’s membership is at an all time high.

Mark Twain’s Australasian lecture tour comes to a halt when the outspoken writer incurs the wrath of the local English establishment due to his shocking pronouncement that a local monument - honouring Kupapa Māori loyal to the English cause - be blown up as it encourages Natives to become traitors to their own race; and that the Rebel Māori, slandered as barbarians and fanatics, were in fact the true patriots. But with Māori on both sides of the battle, historical truth is far from black and white.

A theatrical stick of dynamite from the award winning producers of Strange Resting Places and Te Karakia; Taki Rua Production’s Mark Twain & Me in Māoriland blends live music and audio visual technology as it navigates the complexities and contradictions of a nation when history is often written solely by the victor.
“a fascinating insight into a little known piece of NZ history that resonates as much with today as it does with the past aptly summed up in the words of Mark Twain: ‘history may not repeat, but it sure does
rhyme a lot.’” Ewen Coleman – The Dominion Post
Mark Twain and me in Māoriland
14-24 Jul
Times: Mon-Wed 6:30pm, Thur-Sat 8pm
Prices: $45-$25, see downstage.co.nz for detailed pricing
Matinee: 17, 18 & 24 JUL @ 4pm
Meet the Artists: Mon 19 JUL

Book online www.downstage.co.nz or by phone (04) 801 6946. Downstage is proudly sponsored by BNZ.

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