NEW ZEALAND. A small, rural settlement in the middle of nowhere is in turmoil. Somebody knows what happened to two Danish backpackers who disappeared a year ago on a local walking track. Is it Isaac, who runs the local tearooms? Or is it his only customer, the anorexic Francie? Perhaps it's Declan, recently released from prison for a crime he didn't commit? Or maybe the local cop Travis is not saying all she knows? Secrets, mysteries and mythology pull all of the characters into an ever-tightening web, until Mutuwhenua, the Night of the Dead Moon, comes round again and, in an explosive and destructive untangling, the identity of the murderer is revealed.
Arts Laureate Briar Grace-Smith is one of our most respected playwrights and her works have been staged at festivals throughout the world. In When Sun and Moon Collide, she explores how identity, isolation and abandonment shape our life experience and fuel our darkest fears. Recently returned from the Globe to Globe tour of Hamlet to every country on Earth, distinguished director Rāwiri Paratene assumes the helm for this Matariki offering.
