20 September 2005
Roadworks presents: This Unquiet Planet A Red Mole Production
At Happy Cnr Tory and Vivian Streets Wellington
October 2005 11th to 13th at 8pm 14th and 15th at 8pm &10pm 16th at 4pm “lively and energetic . . . powerful and haunting . . . clever and innovative . . . uniquely
entertaining.” The DominionPost
This Unquiet Planet is the final chapter in a trilogy of theatrical works focussing on contemporary political issues. In
early 2004 Roadworks presented Unbearable Journeys, a production based on the experiences of immigrants, migrants and
refugees, performed in part by European immigrants based in Wellington.
Late 2004 brought The (Un)Known Island: Tales of Trade, the story of the colonisation of a tiny, previously
“undiscovered” yet inhabited island. In the development period of This Unquiet Planet Roadworks presented Cabaret of the
Unlikely at Bats Theatre, a showcase of theatrical and musical pieces. October 2005 brings the trilogy to a close with
This Unquiet Planet, a survey of the state of the planet.
The performance explores contemporary themes through theatre, mask, dance, music and song: nuclear threat, modern
relationships, consumerism, war, natural disasters and visions of the afterlife. This Unquiet Planet presents a view of
the world in opposition to that presented by the mainstream media – a world of strangeness, multiplicities of opinion,
humour and ultimately, hope. The Capital Times called Unbearable Journeys: “A stunning piece of theatre.”
The DominionPost wrote: “In chant and dance, through “foreign” accents, with flashed fragments of maps and boundaries marked by ropes, with
sinister masks and quarrelling puppets, with minimal props and lashings of imagination, the hour-long unbroken show is
impeccably staged.” Of The Un(Known) Island The National Business Review wrote: “It remains an important facet of freedom that such conscientious writers and performers may create such theatre
events.” Roadworks director, Sally Rodwell, has a career in avant-garde and political theatre stretching back to the late
sixties.
Co-founding the legendary Red Mole Theatre in the early seventies with Alan Brunton, Rodwell struck out in a career that
has taken her as director, performer, writer and teacher of theatre across the world, from South America to Northern
Europe in many tours and theatre productions.
In recent years she has been focussing on her Roadworks group, which sprang out of productions staged with the Victoria
University Russian department.
ENDS