Strange Resting Places

Italy, 1944: a battle torn-theatre of the Second World War. The allied onslaught stalls at Monte Cassino and the 28th Māori Battalion find themselves centre stage. A young Māori soldier goes out to steal food; an Italian takes cover in a stable. Both find themselves trapped in a potentially deadly stand-off, but with Germans just outside, their survival depends on co-operation.

Combining live music with drama, comedy and performed in Māori, Italian and English, Strange Resting Places shines a light on the complex emotional bonds of New Zealand’s wartime history and the three universals that Māori shared with the Italians: whanau (family), kai (food) and waiata (song) – not to mention wily cunning, a love of vino and a passion for the ladies. Strange Resting Places is theatre crafted from extensive research, contemporary storytelling and personal experience.

Reviews

‘The stripped-down set of army supplies turns out to provide a rich landscape for the narration of this tale, although that's nothing compared to the actors' abilities to conjure up this forgotten world through voice, music and movement’

‘their sense of chemistry and camaraderie doesn't only extend to each other – the entire structure of the piece is geared towards inclusion of the audience, from the sharing of coffee in the prologue to the breaking of bread and informal chatter afterwards’
INKPOTREVIEWS.COM (Singapore)

‘A spellbinding little gem of a show that will have you laughing a lot and crying just a little’

‘Strange Resting Places is intimate theatre at its best that would be warmly received in a piazza, a marae and anywhere in between. It would be great if it did become a cultural export because then we could boast that they were watching our theatre there.’
THE HERALD (Auckland)

‘You have to hand it to the three performers in Strange Resting Places…without any theatre trickery and without any distance between themselves and the audience they perfectly conjure up another world and another time.’
THE PRESS (Christchurch)

‘There is a great mix of physical theatre, narrative and singing, the production moving deftly from moments of broad comedy to brutal reality, from the hilariously funny to the poignantly tragic.’
DOMINION POST (Wellington)

‘Strange Resting Places is as piquant a piece of 'celebratory' theatre as you may ever hope to experience anywhere. While 'celebration' may seem a strange quality to bring to a war story, it turns out to be an inspired way to make truly moving theatre’

‘Strange Resting Places is a celebratory commemoration that deserves to remain in the permanent repertoire, to be seen throughout New Zealand, Europe, Australia and America at least’
THEATREVIEW.COM (New Zealand)

‘an absolute winner of a play’
CAPITAL TIMES (Wellington)