The Mooncake and the Kumara is a moving story about a mixed-up, Maori-Chinese love affair that sprouts among rows of potatoes.
Nearly 90 years ago on a New Zealand market garden, two families, one Maori and the other Chinese, became part of a romance that would uproot their lives over generations.
Layered with myth and fable and told in a rich mixture of English, Maori and Cantonese, The Mooncake and the Kumara tells a story intertwined with history, duty, secrets and the delicate balance needed to grow families.
Loosely based on the story of the playwright's grandparents' relationship, the play started life as a 10-minute entry, co-written with Te Puea Hansen's cousin Kiel McNaughton (Shortland Street, Auckland Daze), in the Short + Sweet Theatre Competition, where it won Best Drama.
Produced by The Oryza Foundation for Asian Performing Arts and Betsy & Mana Productions Ltd. Co-produced by the Auckland Arts Festival and premiered at Auckland Arts Festival 2015.
Writer: Mei-Lin Te Puea Hansen
Director: Katie Wolfe
"... delightful, funny and moving and certainly marvellously acted" NATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW
"a charming celebration of the lingual diversity in New Zealand" TEARAWAY
"completely disarming" RADIO NEW ZEALAND
