For their debut work, Mahuika Theatre Company has promised "a brand new and enchanting theatrical style".
Under the artistic direction of Pedro Ilgenfritz, Leilani combines Kiwi archetypes and traditional half masks found in Italian improvisational form Commedia Dell'Arte - for something they call 'Aotearoa Dell'Arte'.
The comedic melodrama sees three emerging female actors take on the challenge of playing all eight characters in this heart warming tale. Leilani has the best news to share and life is great, until she is left heartbroken and discarded by the people who are supposed to love her most. Junior dumps her, the less-than-lovely Aroha kicks her out and rumours about her spread. Homeless, friendless and expecting. What will Leilani do? Where will she go? Leilani is a search for home, amongst familiar faces, in the most unlikely of places. A distinctly Kiwi world somewhere between reality and make-believe.
The new Mahuika Theatre Company aims to create a platform to develop young female practitioners in the arts through mask and physical theatre.