Camino Man
Te Auaha Cinema, 65 Dixon St, Te Aro, Wellington
08/03/2023 - 11/03/2023
Production Details
Written by Steve Wilson
stevprodukt - my little company and instagram handle
Camino Man is a one-man show performed by Steve Wilson, produced by stevprodukt, and presented at Te Auaha as part of the NZ Fringe 2023. It’s an inspiring travel story – part monologue, part slideshow – about the time Wilson trekked across the north coast of Spain on the Camino del Norte; one of the old pilgrim walking trails that is part of the Camino de Santiago. It’s a story of reflection and redemption as Wilson meets a number of people who help him make sense of his recent distressing and damaging experiences. It’s about discovering your smile, it’s about finding love, it’s about saying sorry, and it’s about finding peace with trauma.
Te Auaha – Cinema
8–11 March 2023
7:00pm (50m)
$25 / $20 conc
Bookings through the NZ Fringe website
www.fringe.co.nz/show/camino-man
www.instagram.com/stevprodukt
Steve Wilson - performer
Theatre , Solo ,
50m
Compelling, emotive and bright journey through community to self-resolution
Review by Emma Maguire 10th Mar 2023
I’m not sure what to expect with Camino Man as the Fringe website won’t load the show page. However, as a hiker and as someone who has been interested in walking the Camino ever since I watched the documentary Camino Skies in 2019, I’m sitting closest to the front in Te Auaha’s Cinema, eagerly awaiting Steve Wilson’s show.
Despite the thoroughly unromantic location (one day Te Auaha’s Cinema will have theatrical lighting…), and the fact that our performer can definitely see all of us, I’m immediately charmed by Wilson as he comes marching into the space singing about the Camino.
After a series of misdemeanours and after being attacked by a transient whom Wilson calls “Jesus”, he takes some time away from Australia and decides to walk the Camino del Norte, from Irun in the east of Spain to Santiago de Compostela in the west (over 800km!).
While in essence we’re just watching a slideshow of Wilson’s travels across Spain, he’s an incredibly compelling performer with a great grasp on characterisation and storytelling. We see characters like Allain, who Wilson befriends across the journey and meets again in Santiago, and the beautiful Violetta, who charms Wilson’s heart and the pair share a moment together.
Known as the Crazy Australian, Wilson weaves his way across Spain, meeting and re-meeting people as he looks inwards and finds some kind of self-resolution. Walking the Camino is all about community, you see, and it is that community that paints this show in a great way, making the work thoroughly emotive and bright, alongside Wilson’s breakneck delivery and occasional jokes.
I am rather taken by Wilson’s performance and overall heart, so much so that I find myself leaving the theatre Googling potential Camino hikes. One day, one day … [Show contains brief mentions of sexual assault and abortion.]
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