Kōtuku and the Moon Child by Birdlife Productions

FROM NEW ZEALAND TO THE MOON AND BACK AGAIN – a fairytale for the child in all of us, showing at the SPACE PLACE! Birdlife Productions have created an adventure story using Masks, Puppetry and Music about loss, longing and finding the way back home!

Maori believe that seeing just one Kōtuku in your lifetime will bring you good fortune – but what if you got captured by a bad one and kept as her treasure – how could this possibly be seen as good luck? Unless of course you learn how to set yourself free and get crowned a Moon Princess (and make some
really cool friends along the way)! Although the play reads like a fairy tale it expresses contemporary themes about inclusivity and self resilience, with the character of Kōtuku (or White Heron) taking on a darker side that provides the challenges to the Moon Child on her quest and descent to Earth.

The New Zealand landscape is very present in this work. Co-founder of Birdlife Productions, Bridget Sanders, has drawn on her love of the Estuaries of Golden Bay – the changes brought by the constant tides, the colours, shapes and light of the sea and sky, as well as the bird life and the shapes of the gnarled Manuka trees! Sanders has created a puppet show that is distinctly visual using found objects, reams of cloth and plenty of wonder and includes Basal Masks and many different forms of puppetry.

It is all accompanied by a breath-taking original piano score by Wellington Composer and musician David Sanders and although made for the whole family to enjoy, this is a performance with absolutely NO spoken word! Sanders says: “I wanted to express modern-day themes, crossing racial and cultural boundaries, where ideas can be communicated without spoken language but rather through visual imagery and the power of music”.

Following New Zealand Fringe and Dunedin Fringe, Sanders and her partner Roger are taking this
show to the Prague Fringe Festival in May and then to Festivals in England. Sanders says: “We are looking forward to taking this ‘little piece of New Zealand’ out into the world – so catch it while you can!”
‘Kōtuku and the Moon Child’ is for everyone aged 5 to 95 years.

Tag line: A Moon Child gets trapped on Earth - how will she find her way home? Masks, Puppetry, breath-taking original Music and NO spoken word, for everyone age 5 to 95 years!

Kōtuku and the Moon Child by Birdlife Productions

Space Place, Carter Observatory, 41 Salamanca Road, Wellington
Saturday 16th March 11am, 2.0pm, 4.30pm. 50 mins. Age 5 – 95yrs!
Tickets: https://www.fringe.co.nz/show/32505 or on door. Cost $8

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