Stage draws straight from the page

BY AMANDA FISHER

If you can't afford a trip to a far and distant land this year, don't fret - a far and distant land has come to Wellington.

Julie Nolan and Kate Parker, creators of New Zealand International Arts Festival stage production The Arrival, have taken the two dimensions of Australian author Shaun Tan's graphic novel and turned it into a three-dimensional stage production.

"You look at it and it's enormous, [the protagonist] goes to an entirely new world ... Within the restrictions of a theatre space you can portray [that]," Nolan said.

The book depicts a migrant encountering a strange new world.

Nolan said the stage production portrayed the same story, with the few departures from the book evident in the use of perspective and scale, depiction of time and the use of humans as architecture.

"We have walked a nice line of staying true to [Tan's] book and adapting things we needed to to honour the story-telling."

Though the show has more than 200 props, cast members periodically join in. At various points they portray snow and rain, then morph into clothes pegs.

Out of a cast of 10, only the main actor stays in character the entire time.

"Apart from that, the cast kind of evolves and takes on multiple roles as people, objects, and landscapes," Nolan said.

"Really distinct characters, objects, and properties merge with other characters and become almost invisible."

An original score and a specifically created language were other tools used to create an alien world.

The pair wanted a completely new language to reflect the feeling of the world, so they "messed around with the alphabet".

The inspiration to turn Tan's critically acclaimed graphic novel - which began life as a children's book on its five-year road to completion - into a stage production came from Parker, who encountered the book a few years ago.

"As soon as she looked at it she immediately felt this had to be made into a play.

"It was this beautiful tale of a man leaving his family behind in this troubled land ... the story itself ... captivated us."

In the process of creating the stage show, Nolan and Parker spoke to refugees to get a flavour of the culture shock experienced by migrants.

"That ... informed the heart of the work really [so] we could take some of those stories with us.

"For us it was a case of honouring one man's journey but knowing that it's one that relates to many other people's tales."

The production was born in March last year in Auckland, and has since been to Australia and Hong Kong, while retaining most of its original cast. One dropped out to have a baby.

But it is particularly important for the two New Zealanders, who met as students at Melbourne's John Bolton Theatre in 1996, the show be appreciated at home.

"For most [New Zealanders] historically looking at their ancestors, the feeling is in our blood as well."

And though the stage production was not designed for children, Nolan has some advice for adults intending to see the production: "Leave your cynicism at the door and allow yourself to be transported to another world ... we don't get to do that a lot in our lives."

The Arrival is performed at the Opera House, today and tomorrow, 8pm; March 13 at 2pm and March 14 at 4pm.

- © Fairfax NZ News