The whole world is watching...

In 1981 a racially selected South African rugby team toured New Zealand for the first time in fifteen years, and our country was plunged into chaos. Flash forward a few decades, and the 2008 election saw the conflict make headlines again, when National leader John Key told reporters he ‘couldn’t remember’ his position on the tour. So what was John doing during these fateful months? And where was Aunty Helen? The Engine Room imagines these political icons in a partly factual, mostly fictional account of two seminal moments in New Zealand’s history.

“An ingenious show… Simultaneously intoxicating and sobering.” 
– Theatreview

"Entertaining and very funny…”
– The Dominion Post

The Engine Room premiered at BATS Theatre, Wellington, during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Jim Anderton, Kevin Taylor, George Clark 
Paul Harrop 

Helen Clark, Steve Joyce, Protestor
Harriette Cowan

Producer
Hannah Banks

Stage Manager
Ellen Walsh

Set Design
Nick Zwart

Costumes
Dawa Devereux

Lighting Design
Uther Dean

Lighting Operator
William O'Neill

Choreography
Ricky Dey

Graphic Design & Programme
Alex Rabina

Poster Design
A Mysterious Stranger

AV Research
Veronica Harwood-Stevenson

Publicity
Ally Garrett
Hannah Banks
Freya Desmarais