Afterwards, everyone hung around to discuss the play and the issues it raised over free cake. A patched Mongrel Mob member told the crowwd that it was “eye-opening”: “You never get to see the victim’s side, so thanks for that.” “How can we white, middle-class people help?” asked one audience member, to passionate nods of agreement. Some audience members were still wiping their eyes, a good 15 minutes after the play had ended. LISTEN to Di White of JustSpeak talk to Megan Whelan about last year’s collaboration with Last Tapes Theatre Company: The discussion was frank, raw, and moving, and represented the merging of two communities to address a problem that they’d come to see as belonging to both of them. “If there’s violence, like there has been in my home, we have to have the courage to change. If we don’t, then we get the same old deal,” said Zack Makaore, the general manager of the Hastings-based Te Taitimu Trust, a youth organisation that deals with families in similar situations to the Daly’s. “So if we’re to take what was portrayed tonight, courage is a big thing for a lot of people. “Some of us go and lock our doors and say, ‘Oh well, that’s not our problem, that’s the police’s problem’, but if we’re to have a better community, these sorts of things [need to] influence our way of thinking.” One of the rangatahi Mr Makaore brought with him was Mariah Richmond, 16, a student at Napier’s Tamatea High School and the eldest of seven children from a Black Power family. Her father was imprisoned when she was six years old. She related to the issues raised in the play, and the character of Daly’s sister Danica, and said the community response was “inspiring”. “It took me right in there – like, I felt like I was actually there and the different times gave me the real emotions,” she said. “It was very powerful. I tried not to cry. Some parts of the stories I related to myself just because I’ve witnessed it before. “Tonight’s acts were a lot more intense than why my dad was in there but yeah, it was definitely powerful, and there’s a lot of that stuff going on out there,” she said. “And I actually don’t think the community is aware of what’s going on. I think it’s really hidden because we only know about it when we get to see it on TV. I think our communities are very…they’re not very together, like, not much voice is heard.” Renee Lyons performs at Arohata Women’s Prison Photo: Stuart McKenzie / Last Tapes Theatre Company, JustSpeak Mr Makaore said the evening was an “illustration of how powerful the arts can be” in bridging two communities described by many present as “siloed”. “If we can see how violence is portrayed on the stage, we can see the other side too, on how we can fix it and find solutions in the community,” he said. After he spoke he was swamped by members of the community, many of whom he had never met before, who wanted to exchange details and offer support to the people and families his trust dealt with. “There are people here tonight that wanted to volunteer their time – lawyers, accountants and such,” he said. “I’m not asking them for their money, I’m asking them for their help. They got the picture, they got it!”
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 10:38:53 +0000
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