Last week two Lower Hutt Colleges, St Bernard’s and Sacred Heart staged a joint production of The Battalion, which was overseen by Te Rakau Trust and stage veteran Jim Moriarty.
Sacred Heart College drama teacher Jack Boyle says audiences were moved and delighted by performances of The Battalion.
The Battalion has been performed many times since its first performance in the 2006 International Arts Festival but this is the first time a student has been entrusted to take turns playing Matene. Hosea Tapuai-Tuita’alili put his heart into 16 weeks of rehearsals knowing that if he ”didn’t cut the mustard” in the lead role, he would not be allowed to perform it in other than matinees.
But he excelled, and Moritarty stepped back to put him under the spotlight on Monday and Thursday nights.
The Battalion written by Moriarty’s partner, Helen Pearse-Otene, looks at the experiences of young soldiers in the 28th Maori Battalion, and follows the grandchildren of one of the veterans.
Source
‘