Work begins on Once Were Warriors musical

Boot camp has begun in earnest for the cast and crew of the $4 million musical stage production of Once Were Warriors.

For the next 40 days, the cast will be holed up at Eyre Lodge in North Canterbury, working on acting, singing, dancing and kapa haka skills.

Based on the novel by Alan Duff, the production - telling the story of a family living with domestic violence and gang life - will premiere in Christchurch on March 2, then tour the main centres.

Director Jim Moriarty said the production was a musical drama, rather than a straight musical.

"It will be the biggest indigenous piece of musical theatre seen in New Zealand for a long time," Moriarty said.

"Once Were Warriors is iconic after the success of the film and the book, but the story is still relevant and sends shudders down the spine."

Making a musical on the subject of family violence was not an easy task, especially one that had been branded so strongly by the film.

"I want to use theatre as a means of making change," he said. "The whole question of family violence remains in front of us as a nation. I want people to increase their awareness so not another child dies.

"I want them to come out of the show feeling moved, but with enormous hope for Beth and her children that the violence can stop, and that violent men like Jake Heke can get help for their problems."

Moriarty has timed the show to coincide with a campaign to stem family violence.

He will have a petition at theatres where the production will play, asking people to support the repeal of Section 59 of the Criminal Justice Act. This section allows parents to use "reasonable force" to discipline their children.

Ex-Burnside High School teacher Willy Craig Fransen will play the role of Jake "the Muss" Heke.

"Don't expect to see Tem Morrison [who played Jake in the film] on stage," Fransen said.

Fransen is still working on developing his own look and style, though he believes his Jake will be more reflective of the character in the movie than the Jake portrayed in Duff's book.

Fransen said Jake could not be a bad character from start to finish "or no one would believe he could command respect or a wife who loves him".

"My biggest challenge is to portray a character who the audience can have empathy with."

A strong kapa haka element will underpin the production. Adults make up the core of the cast, but there will be a chorus of 25 young people from the Te Rakau Hua O Te Wao Tapu Trust - a charitable trust which has performed in schools, marae, remand centres, prisons and at-risk communities as well as in professional theatres.

"Some of these young people don't need to research the subject matter," Moriarty said. "They have been down that path - it is their life journey."

Singer Tina Cross plays Heke's embattled wife Beth. She had been asked to record one of the songs from the production but decided to offer herself for the part.

"I think Jim was a bit surprised as my image is more sophisticated and meticulous than that of Beth. However, I see this as the pinnacle of my career, something that will take me out of my comfort zone," Cross said.

"I want to put myself in the role and find out why Beth put up with the violence, why she didn't leave."

The show, produced by Christchurch businessman Anthony Runacres, is based on a script by Riwa Brown, with music by Richard Marett and lyrics by Jamie Burgess.

The movie

* The 1994 film was the first to gross more than $6 million at the New Zealand box office.

* Since then director Lee Tamahori has directed four Hollywood features - Mulholland Falls, The Edge, Along Came a Spider and Die Another Day.

- NZPA