Play commemorates sinking of the Rainbow Warrior

By Gary Farrow

APN / NZ HERALD·

19 May, 2015 10:25 PM4 mins to read

Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbour after bombing by French secret service agents. Photo / Gin Hanley

The Large Group and Last Tapes Theatre Company have joined together to produce Fallout: The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the bombing that changed New Zealand forever.

Written by Bronwyn Elsmore and directed by Jennifer Ward-Lealand, the play looks back at that fateful night when an aggressive act by French secret service agents occurred in Auckland Harbour.

The Rainbow Warrior, a ship which was dedicated to peace and actively involved in aiding affected peoples in the South Pacific, was sunk by the spies. The French government was upset that the boat was about to head for Mururoa Atoll to protest the nuclear testing there.

Particularly tragic was the death of Portugal-born Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira, who was on board the ship at the time of the attack. He drowned, having just celebrated his 35th birthday.

Director Jennifer Ward-Lealand says as soon as she heard about the play written by Elsmore, she knew it was a story which had to be told.

"Apart from the fact that it was 30 years ago, it was an event that absolutely changed New Zealand and New Zealanders."

She says the play aims to give the audience an idea of how the public felt at the time, and how they along with the New Zealand Police played a role in tracking down two of the 13 spies and bringing them to justice. The four actors - Fasitua Amosa, Luanne Gordon, Toby Leach and Kerry Warkia - represent New Zealanders from a range of backgrounds, trying to put their feelings across.

"The actors talk directly to the audience - it's about these people's experiences, how they felt, what they did, where they were. So it's very much that they're not being talked at like in a normal play - it's not like a whole lot of little scenes are playing out," says Ward-Lealand. "These people are talking right to you, which is really great. It's got a really good storytelling quality about it."

Designer Paul McLaney adds that as well as affecting the people who were around at the time, the Rainbow Warrior bombing had a defined effect on New Zealand's social history.

"You could've imagined that a couple of years earlier we had the Springbok tour happening in New Zealand, and you've got brothers and fathers at each other's throats," he says. "With the coming together that this event inspired in the community, New Zealand sort of grew up a bit."

People involved in the situation at the time have even be present in the rehearsal room in the past couple of weeks, including Rainbow Warrior crew member Bunny McDiarmid, Greenpeace UK founder member Susi Newborn, and New Zealand photographer Gil Hanley.

"There's massive AV content going on as well," says McLaney of the visuals in the theatre production. "Jeremy Fern's done a fantastic job in sourcing so many images, and having access to Gil Hanley's photographs from the time."

Ward-Lealand is proud of the play and thinks it is an important experience, particularly for those who are less familiar with the story of the sinking.

"If you come and see this show you'll come away with an enormous amount of information, but the stage is a wonderful way to see these things, it's a great place to tell stories, and of course an anniversary is a great time to remember things."