Wellington actor Jan Bolwell to bring her play Silent Spring Revisited to Palmerston North

Jan Bolwell plays American environmentalist Rachel Carson in Silent Spring Revisited.

Wellington actor Jan Bolwell returns to Palmerston North on September 3 with her one-woman show Silent Spring Revisited. It is based on the book by American environmentalist Rachel Carson, updated to a contemporary New Zealand context.

Published in 1962, Silent Spring documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides.

Silent Spring Revisited is written and performed by Bolwell. Her North Otago farming grandmother Hilda introduced her to Carson’s writing.

“I have Gran’s first-edition copy of Silent Spring, which I treasure and use in my play,” Bolwell says.

“With climate change and the challenges of preserving the environment in our contemporary world, it feels timely to tell the story of one of the world’s great pioneering conservationists.”

The play also features the words of New Zealand freshwater ecologist Mike Joy, who is an outspoken critic of the Government’s environmental policies. Bolwell has a virtual conversation with Joy in the play.

The director is Annie Ruth, composer Jan Bolton, lighting designer Helen Todd and set designer Trish Stevenson.

Bolwell is the founder of Crows Feet Dance Collective. She has written nine plays. In 2022, Milord Goffredo, about her father’s World War II experiences, played at Circa Theatre in Wellington for a three-and-a-half-week season.

The Details

What: Silent Spring Revisited

When: Sunday, September 3, 3pm

Where: Society of Friends Hall

Tickets: $20, email taniakopytko@gmail.com to book