Ecology in Fifths - The Playground

Inspired by H Guthrie Smith’s (1921) Tūtira: The Story of an NZ Sheep Station, Ecology in Fifths unravels the NZ myth of a ‘clean green and natural landscape’ — revealing the environmental tensions that lie underneath our grassy paddocks and forest canopies.
Spectacular performance design by director Sam Trubridge and stunning choreography by Sean MacDonald combine to present a powerful, poignant lament for the lost ecologies and history of Aotearoa New Zealand. An immersive soundscape by New Zealand composer Bevan Smith transports the audience through the evolution of the story: a transformation occurs, as Guthrie Smith’s principles are interwoven with
Māori myth and legend.
Suburban rituals, pastoral tragedies and earthy reveries unfold with happenings “that assault both our senses and our conscience” Deirdre Tarrant, Capital Times. This evocative production exposes “the ineffectual and damaging attempts by the human race to tame the terrestrial ecosystem” - Jenny Stevenson, Theatreview.

MacDonald will be joined in the performance by dancers Hannah Tasker-Poland, Emmanuel Reynaud, Brydie Colquhoun and Luke Hanna. 

Runs for 60 minutes, contains loud sound effects and flashing lights.

“Vicious at times, disjointed and disquieting, this work asks us to take responsibility and not to walk away.” - THEATREVIEW