Chris Green Returns to Palmy with Iconic Solo Play

Actor/Singer Chris Green Returns to Palmy with Iconic Solo Play

The Coop and The Dark Room proudly present COALTOWN BLUES by Mervyn Thompson.

COALTOWN BLUES is a moving and entertaining account of a young boy’s Depression and War years in a small West Coast mining town. CHRIS GREEN returns to Palmerston North with his acclaimed revival of MERVYN THOMPSON’s play as part of an 8-centre tour, directed by LINDSEY RUSLING.

The show depicts both the tragedy and comedy of poverty and politics; the struggles throughout Thompson’s childhood in a West Coast mining town. It is both a lively and comical celebration and a wrenching lament for the working class roots from which he sprang. It particularly resonates for society today as child poverty and the harsh realities and resilience of life in mining towns fills our news screen on a regular basis all over again.

While playwright, MERVYN THOMPSON, is one of New Zealand’s most significant playwrights, thirty years on many associate his name with controversy. In 1984, the year COALTOWN BLUES was first performed, masked students abducted Thompson, stripped him naked, chained him to a tree in the Auckland Domain, and spray-painted ‘rapist’ on his car. The following year, when Thompson toured his show, he was met by vocal demonstrators who continued to mark their presence throughout the performances by banging on the exit doors. Until recently, the play has been largely submerged by this controversy, but Green believes, whatever the truth is, this one-man musical drama is an important New Zealand work which now needs to be seen.

“Chris had to bring each character to life with his acting and singing ability and he did this superbly.” - The Bush Telegraph

24-25 April, 7.30pm & 26 April, 2pm

$20 adult / $12 concession

To book, visit http://www.thedarkroomnz.com or call Centrepoint Theatre Box Office on 06 354 5740.

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