With stake-in-the-ground gender politics established the play continued with what was essentially a celebration of mana wāhine. Fox brought a strong on-screen presence to the film Pa Boys but here, she and Moetara were eclipsed by Boynton's powerful stage presence. The actor-singer's characterisation ranged from poignant to ferocious with flashes of the operatic. Tuari's cheekiness, extroversion and energy maintained the vital, colourful connection with the audience.
That's not to diminish Fox and Moetara's parts; from comic Waituhi hockey girl to rebel warrior, Fox was strong in her characterisation while Moetara brought sensitivity and grace to her roles.
Ihimaera often treads a fine line between sensitivity and sentimentality in his fiction and this quality was brought out in an excerpt from I've Been Thinking About You, Sister.
In the story, Aroha takes white stones and a vial of water from a local river to Tunisia where her beloved brother, and Maori Battalion serviceman, Rangiora is buried in a war cemetery. Boynton's Aroha felt the loss keenly and was accompanied by her ageing, sometimes garrulous, father, played by Tuari.
That several in the audience laughed to see Tuari in such a role underlined the familial connection between the actors and theatre-goers. Tuari's out-of-character characterisation was joyful art. Cast as a helpful, dapper and sensitive Frenchman with dancing feet, Moetara brought a comic delicacy to the story.
Local references in much of the play resonated with the Gisborne audience; many of the more uncomfortable historical stories are ours, too. Humour, audience interaction and aroha underpinned the performance but, in an almost underworldly performance, Boyton, as The Matriarch's Artemis Riripeta Mahana, took us to a darker place.
The audience saw that strength of character again in an excerpt about the largely untold story of wāhine toa's role in events of 1868, which included the siege (and massacre) at Ngatapa, Te Kooti's escape from exile and the ensuing utu at Matawhero. It was played out in a powerful mix of melodrama, drama and, ultimately, tragedy.
A striking feature of the production was the seamless segue from punch-to-the-face scenes, such as this, into a more light-hearted story or those of pathos and strength of will. Fox's most triumphant role in the play was in a simple, bitter-sweet story in which she played lively, loving mokopuna to her grandmother whose Alzheimer's doesn't get in the way of playing tricks on her complicit granddaughter.
The standing ovation was inevitable but heartfelt and deserved. True to the nature of production was the Paikea waiata cast and audience sung to each other. "You'll remember this night," Tairāwhiti Arts Festival director Tama Waipara told the audience afterwards - and that we will.