This is Aotearoa in the early 1800s, set on a brutal and barren wasteland a few heartbeats before the plague of the New Zealand Musket Wars.
The land has a hostile beauty where the people, like primal spirits, bend to its whim. Their chief, Aoraki, dominates their lives like the ever demanding earth.
An outsider has arrived – a Scotsman – taken in as ‘mokai’, Aoraki’s pet. Escaping his own world in search of a new one, the Scotsman Mason proves his value as a tough and uncompromising fighter. To reward Mason, Aoraki gifts him his slave Hine, to be his wife.
Once a high ranking chief’s daughter from a rival tribe, Hine has been enslaved by Aoraki and is now damaged and desperate for freedom. Her marriage to Mason will change the tribe’s destiny with devastating consequences.
This epic story and its haunting imagery merge New Zealand’s culture and history into a stunning fusion of theatre and movement creating a uniquely New Zealand theatrical event that is guaranteed to etch a lasting impact on audiences.
An experience to be immersed in - blood, spit and all.
NZ Herald
...regal and intimidating in both manner and physical presence. Theatreview
Flintlock Musket was developed as a part of Playmarket’s Pasifika Playwrights Programme and THE EDGE Double Shot Programme
Photos by Nic Staveley