The Magic Pāua Shell set to delight Waikato youngsters

Te Awamutu locals James West (left), Laura Purves and Paul Purves are set to be a part of Hamilton's The Magic Pāua at the Meteor Theatre.

Young Waikato creatives James West and Laura Purves are set to feature in Hamilton children’s theatre company Stories and More’s latest project as they return to The Meteor with a new show, The Magic Pāua Shell.

An original work written by mother-daughter duo Stories and More founder Cecilia Mooney and founding member Missy Mooney, The Magic Pāua Shell blends magic, adventure, and toi Māori and is set to take school holidays to a whole new “sea” level.

Suitable for ages 5 and up, it tells a story of friendship, family, and forgiveness with music created especially for the production by Dr Jeremy Mayall and Horomona Horo and direction by Cecilia Mooney.

Set between the shores above and the moana below, the show follows young mermaid Princess Miriam as she is pulled out of the ocean on the day of her coronation to an unfamiliar land. In the shadow of a generational grudge held between two feuding families over a lost sacred relic, the Magic Pāua shell, audiences are invited to join Miriam on her journey to find her way back home.

Playwright Cecilia Mooney comments, “It’s ultimately a story showcasing the power of friendship and forgiveness as we see Miriam and her best friend, the crab Prince JJ (played by West), work together to restore harmony to their community. All with a little bit of magic, of course.”

Mooney comments, “The goal of Stories and More is to make live theatre accessible to children and young people to watch and participate in both on and off stage.”

James and Laura are the perfect examples of this, with James taking on the lead role of Prince JJ and Laura leading behind the scenes as stage manager for the show.

James West in rehearsal of The Magic Pāua Shell.

An integral part of Stories and More’s kāupapa is to give young people the chance to do a full-scale production and experience theatre beyond a school showcase setting.

Mooney adds, “This year our cast features 18 actors who range in age from 5 to 70+ and include children from our drama classes and adults from the local Waikato theatre community.”

The Magic Pāua Shell isn’t just child-friendly entertainment; this is theatre for families, by families. Multiple family groups play key roles in preparing the show for the stage.

“Stage manager Laura will be joined by her uncle Paul Purves in the tech team doing lighting. My daughter Missy helped me write the play, and my two grandchildren, Olive and Thomas, and husband Owen are all on stage,” says Mooney.

“It’s quite special to have multiple generations of our family involved in the show and several parents and relatives of the children from the drama classes are also helping out in production roles like backstage, set, and costume construction.”

The Magic Pāua Shell will be running at The Meteor Theatre from September 27–30 with a mixture of daytime and evening performances. Tickets are $10 for children, $15 for adults, and $42 for a family pass (four tickets). Further information and tickets are available at themeteor.co.nz.