No Karanga. No Pohiri. No warm welcome as is generally the custom of the Māori. On the contrary the opening sequence of Kirk Torrance’s second assault; Flintlock Musket, is almost apocalyptic, with bodies strewn around the atea, followed by a haunting lamentation over a bloodied corpse. Meinga meinga te ‘cut to the chase’ eh?

Over the last few years I had heard of the development of Torrance’s piece; generally as an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  In brief, Mason (played by Jason Whyte), a wily Scottish colonial, has been befriended by an early 19th Century tribe. He would be the Macbeth and Hine, a sullen adoptee of the Chief (Nancy Brunning) would be Lady Macbeth. The two jostle and romp, twisting schemes to overthrow the Lord of the land Aoraki (played magnificently by Maaka Pohatu). However, mine is not to re-package or summarise the piece but to reflect my own impressions.

Flintlock Musket pushes the limitations of typical adaptation as Torrance asserts a more explicit story of Mana Māori in the tumultuous era of the early 19th Century colonial onslaught. All of which is aligned poetically within the metaphor of gun and taiaha; he ataahua aua tohu. Of course Torrance indicates clear inspiration from Shakespeare but what is equally apparent is that he has created his own play. Tena koe E Mara.

It must be noted however, that it seems that critical points of the piece, particularly in the second act, seemed unsupported; missing some crucial relationship builds and plot definition. Generally though, through the help of an eerie sound score and some good ol’ fashioned grunt from an energetic cast, the flavours of this Māori theatrical feast make their way through.  

As stated earlier, the desolate and stark aesthetic that is consistent throughout the production is not your classic ‘Māori Theatre’ approach. It could have been easy to fall into the golden romance that is tempting of a Shakespeare rendition, but Rachel House’s provocative and suitably dissonant interpretation is refreshing.

This austere, minimal treatment of Flintlock Musket is challenging to say the least, as characters traverse mountain sides, rugged forest floors and monumental wharenui on what is actually nothing more than a black floor and a couple of posts. This story of betrayal and revenge is dissected by an audacious director’s blade, presenting poignancy and a visceral spunk that in my view is to be expected from a director such as House.

Thanks to John Verryt, my hinengaro was allowed to paint much of its own imagery onto a black canvas. The spearhead stage, thrust in to the middle of the audience is equally relevant, as the symbols of intrusion and ope taua are constantly built on, in text and in action throughout the play.

Subtle shafts of light were used to sharpen the viewers’ focus into minute spaces and moments. Jeremy Fern’s prominent lighting quality in this piece was actually darkness and shadow, complementing Verryt and House’s almost black and white interpretation.

A decision on choreographed physical reiteration was an interesting idea but needed more thought. Examples of possible misuse are with Hine’s soliloquy. With the likes of Nancy Brunning, who alone exudes mana with her vocal prowess and masterful stature, maybe there is a need to gauge the timing and size of the physical metaphor from the chorus.

As the majestic Grand Chief Aoraki, Maaka Pohatu’s voice resonated well, flipping nimbly through vowels and consonants of Torrance’s lyrical text. It would seem that the very fact of stepping to Shakespeare would naturally bring such a strong commitment to the use of language. However, generally the cast’s vocal delivery seemed tired. My assumptions are due to lack of time to develop the fine-tuning needed to carry the demanding lyricism that Torrance has presented. I viewed the piece on the first evening, so I’m sure the season saw this aspect develop.

In terms of the reo, a point must be made about the Mokai Pakeha. These Pakeha ‘pets’ of the time were adopted and became ‘white Māori’, adept in the native custom and language. The reo was noted as strong with Mokai Pakeha. The choice, whether directorial or performance, to bend and twist Mason’s reo through a stilted Scottish Pakeha accent was, historically speaking, questionable and unfortunately for me loosened some of the key meaning and tensions up.

Tane Mete’s entry as the ethereal Tohunga still resonates with me as the most outstanding emotional and spiritual component to the piece for me. Mete’s serpentile movement and pukana eye reflected a Patupaiarehe quality which carries a familiar and distinctive intensity.

I celebrate the very fact that the Flintlock ensemble, as a whole, has given voice to a vital era of New Zealand’s posthumous history. Breathing life into these characters gives a rejuvenating insight into how our nation came to be. Thanks to the Flintlock kapa for a moving and vital production. E tatari ana au mo to hokinga mai.  

Na reira, ko te tumanako, ka tau enei kupu ki o koutou whatumanawa. He whakaaro noaiho mai i tenei pia. Me he awangawanga taau, whakahokia korero mai koa. Ko te tino take, kia whakakoi tatou i a tatou ano

Mauri ora ki a tatou

Naku iti noa
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With Flintlock Musket, Kirk Torrance demonstrates his poetic skill and that he can handle the big themes.

The full text of this article appears in the NZ Listener
(December 5-11 2009), on sale now.

Flintlock Musket is the second play by Kirk Torrance, Outrageous Fortune actor and winner of a Chapman Tripp outstanding new playwright award for his 2003 debut, Strata. Set in the 1800s, before the musket wars, his new play explores early Māori/Pakeha contact, telling a tale of envy, ambition, bloodshed and revenge. Underpinned by themes and motifs from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it is ambitious in concept and scale. Colliding versions of reality shed light on the differing Māori and Pakeha attitudes to mana, to possessions (land and people) and, by implication, to the meaning of our shared ­history and its place in our respective memories.

The full text will be available online on 19/12/2009.
Subscribe online to the NZ Listener.
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Flintlock Musket opens with a lamentation and closes with a haka; in between is an unrelentingly tense but beautiful tragedy. Admirably, Kirk Torrance’s second play, a Shakespearean allegory of Māori staunchness facing the Pakeha machine, ventures into territory virtually uncharted in theatre: early 19th century Aotearoa. 

Out of this world before the musket wars, director Rachel House and choreographer Jack Gray have created a half-lit, dreamlike vision of great orators and fierce dancing fighters on John Verryt’s vast, diamond-shaped stage. But this is not some pre-colonial golden age. Under fearsome leader Aoraki (an impressive, powerful Maaka Pohatu) life seems nasty, brutish and short. [More]
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Kirk Torrance’s Flintlock Musket is a fabulous yarn; an audio visual feast with rip-roaring adventure, devious plot twists and some fantastic combat scenes set in wild New Zealand, heck – it’s better than Lord of the Rings!

Flicking through the program before the show I notice there are musicians credited. This pleases me greatly as I am a huge fan of live music in theatre and these guys (Tama Waipara, Sean Lynch and Tweedie Waititi) don’t disappoint!

Mason (Jason Whyte) is a runaway Scotsman who jumped ship bound for Australia and found himself in the land of the long white cloud. Whyte plays the part with strength, subtlety and a fantastic Scottish accent!

The prologue, performed by the multi-talented Regan Taylor, tells the story of Mason’s exploits in war; of how he fought bravely, snatching a single musket from the hands of the enemy: a weapon which turned the tide of battle. This places Mason as something of a hero within the tribe who have adopted him. Taylor delivers with exquisite charm, however on opening night I feel his voice is not as strong as perhaps he would like it to be. He is pushing a little hard.

As a reward for his efforts in war, Aoraki the chief (Maaka Pohatu) gifts Mason his daughter for a bride. Pohatu’s performance is a real treat! He exudes power and status and his voice brings joy to the ear. He reminds me of Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now and I mean that in a very good way (for those who would dare debate Brando’s genius – I digress).

 The marital paring sets in motion a chain of opportunities for Hine (Nancy Brunning), the unwillingly betrothed. She reveals her hatred for the society that has enslaved her as a woman, trophy and sex slave. She despises Aoraki and uses her sexual power over Mason to convince the Scot to make a play for power.

Mason goes along with the plan and begins to sow the seeds of doubt like poison in the ear of his friend Toki (Jarod Rawiri). Toki is the eldest son of Aoraki and has already been humiliated by his father who was displeased with his efforts in battle. Toki kills the Tohunga of an opposing tribe. Now, you must understand, dear reader, the Tohunga is a spiritual leader and is meant to be an untouchable man, so this can only mean trouble for poor Toki.

Echoing Macbeth, each time Hine and Mason meet they plot more sinister deeds aimed at taking power for Mason and giving Hine her revenge and freedom. I am really excited to see Nancy Brunning on stage again, as I usually love her work. However, I find her performance really disappointing. Perhaps the lighting is to blame?

Let me articulate: on the whole I love the staging! A large dimond of black polythene, with two pillars which appear as abstract trees. The lighting – designed by Jeremy Fern – is fantastic, dappled and shadowy and really moody. However, when we come to the ‘Lady Macbeth’ scenes, suddenly Hine and Mason find them selves in a hard square box of light situated down stage centre. Thus director Rachel House confines them. They pace around back and forth like some kind of drama school acting exercise. Brunning is too softly spoken, way too internal for my liking and the pair don’t seem hot for each other at all – I am looking for lust!

I would like to see them get more physical and I’d like to see the soliloquies delivered to the audience rather than spoken to oneself, which just feels indulgent. To be honest, every time I see the square light appear, I am thinking "rats, here we go again, another five minutes until more fun bits."

The ensemble is fantastic and the movement work that accompanies this play (directed by Jack Gray) is just brilliant. I’d love to see it woven into everything, such that the ensemble is basically onstage the whole time providing visual texture and emotional subtext.

The play culminates in a dialogue that encapsulates its crux. The ruthless and cowardly power of the musket is about to change everything and this single Scot is the first drop in what we all know will become a flood of white skin.

The dilemma is between a culture connected to the land and spirits, where notions of honour and power, tradition and magic go beyond death versus the dehumanising machine of colonialism, which although hugely successful, has – it is argued – no meaningful value.

The very end of the piece is song and haka performance. This is wonderful and necessary as a way to bring us back into the room where it all started. I love kapa haka performance because I always feel involved. 
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Note: James Cockle has previously reviewed as James Amos.
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Kirk Torrance’s Flintlock Musket combines Shakespearean themes with the early colonial tensions of Māori New Zealand. This is not a simple re-setting of a text, such as the 2007 Downstage production of Othello placed within the Māori land wars, but an original work that displays significant Shakespearean influences. The most notable point of influence, as Torrance indicates in his programme notes, is Macbeth. And perhaps a little bit of Dances With Wolves too!

Jason Whyte is Mason, a Scotsman and a convict, now living amongst the Māori. As a character, Mason does not have to be a Scotsman, but it is a fitting nod to the play’s primary source of inspiration. I was also struck, after seeing Jason’s programme listing adorned with The Lamont Clan (a subsidiary of the McGregor Clan) of the probable parallels between Māori Iwi and Scottish Clans.

Mason is the mokai, pet or slave, of the tribal chief. He has gained the reputation of being a fierce fighter and a wily man who lives on his knees but thinks on his feet. In the record of influences, Mason is Macbeth – but as the mokai, there’s more than a touch of Lear’s fool in the mix. Whyte is superb in sharing with us the different facets of Mason, a character who presents different aspects of himself to different parties. 

Mason’s ‘keeper’ is Aoraki, a powerful chief. Maaka Pohatu brings a commanding mood, regal and intimidating in both manner and physical presence, yet subtle enough to display an element of Lear-like vulnerability when things are not going as Aoraki would like.

Hine is the adopted daughter of Aoraki. If Mason is Macbeth, then Hine is Lady Macbeth. This version of Lady Macbeth is driven by more than ambition. She has genuine grievances to avenge and her need for utu is the driving force that keeps this play moving. Nancy Brunning is not given much range to play with, but is convincing as the dark, damaged woman destined to shape the future of the entire iwi.

The other main character is Toki, Aoraki’s eldest son, played by Jarod Rawiri. Toki is a more moderate warrior than his father, but shares the belief that the purpose of fighting is mana. Toki’s failure to match Mason’s performance in battle, leads Aoriki to favour Mason. Toki has several different sides to his character, depending on who he is with, being quick to anger but also possessing a sense of humour.

The supporting roles are the youngest son of Aoraki (Scott Cotter), the son of Toki (Wairangi Herewini) and the Tohunga (Taane Mete). 

A physical chorus is provided by a five-strong ensemble, bringing the on-stage cast list to twelve. This group are put to good use in adding movement and physical texture to gatherings, battle scenes, ghostly apparitions etc. It’s an element that might be cut in a more budget-constrained production and to do so would be a real loss.

Both the light and sound designs are stunning. The show is augmented by a significant amount of live music combined with recorded effects, to create an eerie soundscape. Taken together, the assault on the senses is visceral and edgy.

Director Rachel House has successfully choreographed all of these competing elements into an integrated whole. Whether it’s the material, the performances, the sound or the light – this is a show that works on every level.

The final piece of drama could perhaps do with a bit of a crescendo, just to emphasise its position as the dramatic climax. This feeling soon gives way as the show closes with a haka that, without losing its power, appears to have a creeping, haunting quality, as though it is the parting shot from deceased historical figures and not just a curtain call from the twelve cast members.

Footnote:
This is definitely a noises off production. Putting your cellphone on silent is not enough and, as one audience member demonstrated, vibrate mode is not even silent. There were a number of times during the first half of opening night when the sound system picked up the signature beep-beep-beep interference of a cellphone – leading to a concerted effort amongst the ushers to remind people to actually turn off phones. For the following nights, I’d recommend that the message that phones on silent will still create interference is put across more prominently before the show starts.
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