“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.
This is a story unique to us as New Zealanders, unravelling the legacy of the women in our past and stirring the ones too wild to be captured by history books. It is a sea-shanty, a coarse and vulgar rhyme that will make you laugh and cry to smell the sea again after so long.
“Red Leap Theatre have become major players in New Zealand's theatrical landscape, venturing into creative domains where many fear to tread." - Theatreview
“Restlessly Creative… Endlessly Inventive”
$2 per hour to a max of $12 on weekends and a $12 flat rate for weekday evenings at The Civic car park. Find out more.