Michael James Manaia

Michael James Manaia PIC CREDIT Te Rawhitiroa Bosch

DOWNSTAGE SOLOS

THEATRE: NEW ZEALAND

“This play has become one of the icons of New Zealand theatre.” The Dominion Post

Twenty years after it burst onto the stages of the world, John Broughton’s iconic New Zealand play Michael James Manaia returns for its Festival encore.

Taki Rua Productions’ Michael James Manaia is the poignant story of a New Zealander who returns home from the Vietnam War to find himself at odds with his culture, his history and his memories. We follow his journey through childhood, family, love, grief, violence, conflict and passion.

After premiering at Wellington’s Downstage Theatre in 1991, this heart-wrenching one-man show went on to the Edinburgh Festival and celebrated performances across the globe. Michael James Manaia is directed by the award-winning Nathaniel Lees and stars Te Kohe Tuhaka in the title role. Tuhaka’s recent film and television highlights include Billy, Waitangi: What Really Happened and Go Girls. His stage credits include Silo Theatre’s acclaimed production of The Brothers Size.

Taki Rua’s new vision of Michael James Manaia crosses the generations, proving to be as insightful and relevant today as when it was first written. Raw, humorous and unsentimental in its telling, Michael James Manaia is a theatrical experience quintessentially of, and about, Aoteoroa.

The 2012 Downstage Solos include Circle of Eleven’s Leo, Royale Productions’ Frequently Asked Questions and Taki Rua’s Michael James Manaia.

Michael James Manaia is at Downstage Theatre from 25 February to 4 March as part of the 2012 New Zealand International Arts Festival, Wellington, 24 February – 18 March. Tickets $43 – $48 available from Ticketek. Downstage Members will receive Friends of the Festival discount for Michael James Manaia by booking at any Ticketek agency or box office using their Downstage Members’ Society card.

ENDS

With support from Creative New Zealand

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