KEY POINTS:
Actor Ian Hughes always knew his parents, Gabrielle and Bob, were adventurous types. They emigrated from Canada to New Zealand in the 1970s and now, in their 70s, have embarked on a whole new venture running a flower farm - complete with three grumpy donkeys - south of Auckland.
But Hughes, 38, had no idea just how daring they were until around five years ago when, at a family gathering, his mother "let slip" the story of how they got engaged after just two dates and four days.
As soon as he heard the tale, Hughes knew its blend of high seas adventure and romance would make it the perfect story on which to base a play.
The result is Ship Songs, a solo show which combines traditional storytelling, original sea shanties from award-winning musician Don McGlashan and futuristic digital animation.
Ship Songs features three stories spanning several centuries: Hughes' mother's voyage from England to Canada in the 1960s; an Irish convict who jumps ship in New Zealand in the 1790s; and the legendary Chinese mariner Zheng He, who voyaged across the Indian Ocean from 1405-1433.
The disparate characters are united by their willingness to throw caution to the winds in pursuit of adventure.
The show is something of a new adventure for the Auckland Theatre Company, too.
For the first time, the company will tour the production around Auckland's suburban theatres.
Smaller and more intimate venues in areas which are already home to large numbers of ATC subscribers have been picked. If all goes well, the ATC may repeat the venture with other shows.
"I want people to have a nice night out, see a great play and then it's almost like I am giving them homework to do," says Hughes, best known for his work on Shortland Street, Topless Women Talk About Their Lives and the play Bare.
"I want them to think about their family and their history and the ship stories they may have. We are awfully quick to forget about the past."
Ship Songs developed last year out of a week-long Auckland Theatre Company master class led by Australian theatre director John Bolton.
Twelve mid-career actors, Hughes included, were asked to come along with an idea which could be developed into a one-person show.
ATC creative development manager Lynne Cardy says that as soon as Hughes shared his parents' story, other participants immediately contributed their own "ship tales".
"Everyone was completely engaged in the story and I knew immediately it was the type of tale that would resonate with a wide audience."
Cardy asked Hughes to consider developing the story through ATC's literary unit, which since 2001 has developed 70 new New Zealand plays by 55 established and emerging playwrights.
Hughes has spent the better part of the last 18 months crafting and fine-tuning the story as well as the characters.
Experienced theatre practitioner Anna Marbrook was brought on board originally to help with the writing but has taken up a more "traditional" directing role.
Her job now includes ensuring myriad cutting-edge digital animation sequences fit with the story.
The design team - Michael Hodgson, Greg Bowyer and Theo Gibson - have crafted an array of special effects to provide a backdrop of images to give the story extra pace and resonance.
Veteran set designer John Verryt has kept the physical set simple - a canvas cloth to represent a sail - to allow the special effects to be used to their full potential.
PERFORMANCE
What: Ship Songs
Where & When: PumpHouse, Takapuna, Aug 6-10; Herald Theatre, Aug 17-Sept 7; Playhouse Theatre, Glen Eden, Sept 12-14; Howick Little Theatre, Sep 17-21
