Our relationship to our Family is complex and it can influence us long after we move from the family home.
Memories of childhood are often sketchy as we grow up, but we retain them often as vignettes, a mosaic of incomplete and sometimes inaccurate stories influenced by our emotions at the time of occurrence.
Half of the Sky explores the moments and memories of three sisters Nye ((Kura Forrester); Ru (Awhina-Rose Henare Ashby) and Rika (Grace Palmer).
They meet up at the old family home close by a river to celebrate Nye’s birthday. She is the eldest sister and she has banned everyone from talking about the real reason they are there – despite that, it is always there, seeping surreptitiously into every conversation.
Complicating matters are two other characters Sefa (Max Palamo) a Samoan builder and his adopted nephew Fetu (Pat Tafa). They act as touchstones for the sisters and lead to more than one revelation and confrontation.
We witness a series of scenes and conversations that initially seem unrelated. Memories of past occurrences, family dramas, good times and old arguments. As these slowly unfold, we get a sense of the richness of this family’s history but also the resentments and misunderstandings that have occurred between the sisters.
These situations illustrate how subjective our memories can be, and how we can spend a life time never communicating the reasons for our actions. They also show how children take on the burden of blame for the actions of their parents and that guilt can stay with us for ever.
Having only seen Kura Forrester in comedic and smaller roles, it is wonderful to see her take on a complex and troubled character and deliver a performance that is strong, and emotionally charged. She is accompanied on stage by a fellow cast who all interact in a way that is believable and relatable. The dynamic between the actresses in particular makes it seem as though they could be related in real life.
Half of the Sky is a nicely written play with an engaging cast and seeing it may well may you think differently about how you view your own past and family relationship.
Half of the Sky
16-26 October 2019 – Auckland
for booking information click here
