Raising the Titanics

Overview

After the success of the 2010 season (earning "Best New Play" in the NZ Listener awards), SmackBang Theatre Company's Raising the Titanic's will be opening the brand new Q theatre.

The play journeys from the present back to the golden age of the Maori show band era to reveal what really sunk the Titanics, who were perhaps the greatest Maori show band never to have existed. Somewhere beneath the oceans of music, mirth and memory lies the truth.

Once more harking back to a time when bands like The Quin Tikis and Maori Volcanics were in vogue and at the top of the charts, Raising The Titanics is a testament to the Maori Showbands of the 1950s and 1960s, these remarkable groups changed the face of New Zealand's musical landscape and paved the way for future New Zealand musicians. The showbands contained elements from popular entertainment as well as traditional Maori culture, the humour and energy of the performers created a truly unique musical style that put NZ on the map.

However it is also a story of discovery, dark secrets, whanau and redemption, the play will time travel from the heyday of the band, to the present day, where one woman's investigation may uncover what made the band fall apart.

The intricate webbing of the cast of characters, past and present, is yet another fine example of the penship of Chapman Tripp award winner Albert Belz (Your's Truly, Whero's New Net), who has received accolades for his work in theatre, film and television since 2001. Raymond Hawthorne one of New Zealand's most senior practitioners in the performing arts, once more helms this celebrated production.

The show brings together some familiar faces from the 2010 production along with some new talent. Tama Waipara, Wesley Dowdell and Faye Smythe all reprise their previous roles, while Lana Garland (host of Food in a Minute, Shortland Street) Roimata Fox (Supercity, Outrageous Fortune) and Jamie McCaskill (He Reo Aroha, Armslength) will bring new energy to the production.