Mark Twain & Me in Māoriland

Inspired by true events! Weaving historical fact with magical realism, Mark Twain & Me in Māoriland fuses the spaghetti western and the epic love story in a bullet-ridden, comic tale set amidst the saloons and waterways of Whanganui 1895; a combustible time of mercenaries, prophets, vaudeville and self serving mayoralty.

Garrisons are on high alert with rumours of an uprising; dynamite-blasts clear passage up river for steam boat travel. For the high minded, low-lifers in town, double dealing opportunism is rife, and the Savage Club’s membership is at an all time high.

Mark Twain’s Australasian lecture tour comes to a halt when the outspoken writer incurs the wrath of the local English establishment due to his shocking pronouncement that a local monument - honouring Kupapa Māori loyal to the English cause - be blown up as it encourages Natives to become traitors to their own race; and that the Rebel Māori, slandered as barbarians and fanatics, were in fact the true patriots. But with Māori on both sides of the battle, historical truth is far from black and white.

A theatrical stick of dynamite from the award winning producers of Strange Resting Places and Te Karakia; Taki Rua Production’s Mark Twain & Me in Māoriland blends live music and audio visual technology as it navigates the complexities and contradictions of a nation when history is often written solely by the victor.

Presented as a part of the ERUPT Lake Taupo Festival.

Staged against a palette of blazing autumn colour and the epic volcanic central plateau, the 8th biennial festival is packed with quality national and international entertainment.

Move and shake at ERUPT Lake Taupo Festival 6-16th May 2010.

Event listed by Taki Rua Productions

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