REVIEW: Te Waka Huia (The Basement)

July 6, 2018

[History Lesion] Excavating history for the purposes of storytelling is a tricky business; a balancing act between telling the truth while being respectful to the real people. The 1963 Brynderwyn bus accident is a particularly sensitive subject, being both from our shores and the not-so-distant past. Playwright (and supporting actor) Naomi Bartley cleverly sidesteps direct commentary on the accident by […]

REVIEW: Te Waka Huia (Te Pou)

August 21, 2017

[Grief and Belonging] It’s a hard thing, to write something from tragedy and history, knowing that a lineage of survivors will be reviewing your best attempts to honour them.   Directed by Chris Molloy, and written and produced Naomi Bartley, Te Waka Huia responds to New Zealand’s worst road incident: the 1963 Brynderwyn bus crash. It follows an interpretation of historical tragedy, […]