By Paolo Rotondo
A bare bones rendition that takes you to the heart of Maggie's story!
Friday 22 September | 11am | Matinée Student rate $10.00
Saturday 23 September | 7pm | $25.00 (concession $20.00)
Sunday 24 September | 4pm | $25.00 (concession $20.00)
Bookings at iTICKET.co.nz
Post Show Forum with playwright Paolo Rotondo | Friday 22 and Saturday 23 September
There’s a tale in my bones, fighting to be told”
Maggie Flynn, a fiery and unforgettable Irish woman leaves England a convict and arrives in Kororāreka the captain of a whaling ship. Her fortune continues to twist and turn from trophy Māori slave to wife of a great chief to Madam of the notorious King Edward Hotel. She makes her final stand in the face of British bombardment, her legacy burning and her legend unspoken.
Kororāreka - The Ballad of Maggie Flynn takes us from wretched beginnings in old London town to the lawless outpost of Kororāreka (Russell), for a brief moment New Zealand’s capital in the era of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Maggie’s legend is reimagined with the story telling skill of Paolo Rotondo and the visual flair of Red Leap.
Red Leap Theatre is New Zealand's leading movement and image based theatre company under the Artistic Direction of Julie Nolan.
This production of Kororāreka – The Ballad of Maggie Flynn has been specially restaged for Te Pou Theatre giving the audience a rare chance to get up close to the story and the actors.
Paolo Rotondo
Paolo has been working in Theatre, Film andTelevision as a writer, director and actor for twenty years. In 2016 as writer/director Paolo released his debut, multi award winning, feature film Orphans & Kingdoms. As a playwright, Paolo has written three stage Plays, including Strange Resting Places, co-written with Rob Mokaraka. Strange Resting Places was a dramatic and comic exploration of the collision of the Maori Battalion with Italian people in WW2. It has been published and toured extensively nationally and internationally, garnering five star reviews at Edinburgh Festival. Paolo has been screenwriter and director on two New Zealand Film Commission funded short films and won Best Script for Dead Letters at the NZ Film awards. As an actor, Paolo starred in Films such as Stickmen and The Ugly and TV shows Insider’s guide to happiness and Shortland Street. Paolo has been fortunate enough to work on the stages of some of New Zealand’s most inspired theatre companies such as Silo, Taki Rua, ATC and Theatre Stampede. Paolo’s collaboration with Red Leap first began in 2003 with The Butchers daughter as a devising actor. Paolo was awarded The Auckland Museum Research Grant 2015 to assist with the research toward Kororareka. The Ballad of Maggie Flynn. As a film Director Paolo works at Flying Fish films, making commercials and developing long-form screen stories. Paolo and partner Renee Mark established and run the Cinema Italiano Festival nationwide and are proud parents of Dario and Sofia.