JustSpeak Invites You to the Theatre

Last Tapes Theatre Company and JustSpeak are proud to  present VERBATIM – two short plays that allow some of New  Zealand’s most marginalised voices to tell their own stories, in their  own words. 

‘Verbatim’ (William Brandt and Miranda Harcourt) and ‘Portraits’  (Stuart McKenzie and Miranda Harcourt) were developed  through interviews with violent offenders, their families, and their  victims’ families. The plays are a form of docu-drama, where the truth  cannot be hidden because the words are not embellished. 

Hear from New Zealand’s prisoners, their families at home, and their  victims’ families, all struggling to come to terms with their realities. 

See the damage, hurt, loss, and reconciliation.

Originally written to be performed in prisons, for prisoners,  ‘Verbatim’ tells the story of a home invasion ending in murder. It  explores the impact of this event on the families of both victim and  offender, and on the offender himself, giving unique insight into often  over-looked lives and backgrounds. Performed by Miranda  Harcourt as a one-woman show around New Zealand prisons in the  early 1990s, this production brings the work to new audiences and  challenges us to consider whether anything has changed in the 20  years since the work’s genesis.

‘Portraits’ tells the true story of the rape and murder of a young  schoolgirl through the eyes of her parents, the offender, and his  estranged ex-wife. Brutally honest and confronting, this work  resounds with loss, and challenges us to ask how this could happen,  and how anyone could recover from such an event. 

These remarkable works are being brought to the stage in 2013  through a collaboration between justice reform group JustSpeak  and Last Tapes Theatre Company. 

An incredible cast of New Zealand industry leaders embody multiple  characters to paint a picture of violent crime and its endless  repercussions. 

Renee Lyons, hot on the heels of the successful international tour  of her one-woman show ‘Nick: An Accidental Hero’, features as the  solo performer in ‘Verbatim’. 

Screen favourites Jodie Rimmer (Until Proven Innocent, In My  Father’s Den) and Fraser Brown (Harry, and the upcoming Field  Punishment No.1) return to the stage for the harrowing ‘Portraits’. 

Directed by Jeff Szusterman.

Auckland 
The Basement Theatre, Nov 12-16 

Wellington 
Newtown Community and Cultural  Centre, Nov 20, 22, 23 

Mangere 
Mangere Arts Centre, Nov 25-27 

Tickets on sale now: 
www.iticket.co.nz/go-to/verbatim-2013 
www.lasttapestheatre.co.nz 
www.justspeak.org.nz 

By arrangement with Playmarket.

ENDS

© Scoop Media