October 17, 2007

2007 SPRING SEASON of NEW DRAMA on Radio New Zealand National

Sunday 21st October  3.04pm

Potiki’s Memory of Stone   by Briar Grace-Smith

A passionate and gripping, Gothic tale of  love and loss, from the award winning writer of  When Sun and Moon Collide.

Young greenstone carver Potiki knows there is a dark secret surrounding his childhood.  Twenty years ago on the South Island’s  West Coast two Māori carvers went searching for a sacred greenstone boulder. They took the young boy, Potiki, with them.  Something terrible happened that day. Potiki must now piece together his puzzling past.  Will what he learns heal or destroy his life?

Directed by Ross Jolly
Engineered by Phil Benge 

Sunday 28th October  3.04 pm

and what remains  by Miria George

A disturbing political/social drama that asks some less than comfortable questions about a possible, frightening future. Just how far would injustice have to go to produce a situation like this?

It is 2011 and, as a final protest against injustices and the continuing mistreatment of the Māori people, the tangata whenua decide to leave New Zealand and take their culture with them.    Five people meet in the international departure lounge of Wellington Airport. And one of them is Mary, the last Māori to officially leave New Zealand.

Directed by Jason Te Kare
Engineered by Phil Benge

Sunday 4th November

Backwards in High Heels    by Stuart Hoar

A twenty-first century comedy of manners about what may be politely called mature relationships.

Holly and Jonathon are well off, successful and bored. They decide to learn tango and meet Marta, a mysterious woman, who introduces them to the animal in tango and, indeed, the animal in themselves.  A simple dance course has a surprising effect on their comfortable lives.

Stuart Hoar has received numerous awards and fellowships for his work as a novelist, screen writer, and playwright. He has had over thirty plays produced for Radio NZ.

Directed by Duncan Smith
Engineered by Phil Benge

Sunday 11th November

The Terror at Tinakore Road   by Neil Giles

A poisoning in a respectable guest house in Tinakore [sic] Road.  A doubly-difficult conundrum where not only the identity of the perpetrator is sought, but the identity of the victim.

It is 1890 in old Wellington, a hotch potch, upstart port town that dares to call itself the capital.  The local police force is bamboozled by the latest gruesome murder.  But is it a murder, and who is the victim?  Enter local chemist, man about town and super-sleuth, Anthony Dunbar.  But even Dunbar is hard pressed to solve this one.  

Directed by Adam Macaulay
Engineered by Phil Brownlee
With original music by Janet Holbrow