New lease of life for deadly drama
The story of the Burgess Gang’s murderous crimes on the Maungatapu track is taking to the stage once again – in a new and improved version.
Maungatapu is set in Nelson, where the killers were captured, and tells the tale of the gang’s demise with flashbacks to their beginnings on the West Coast.
Playwright Justin Eade said the new season of the production had been improved ‘‘heaps’’.
‘‘We’ve reworked the murders and reworked bits and pieces.’’
The play debuted last year at the Nelson Arts Festival before touring the top of the south with great success. And some who saw it have connections to the brutal incident in June 1866.
Eade said that after performances, people often approached the crew to talk about a relative who had a Maungatapu story to tell.
‘‘One lady said, ‘My grandfather was up the tree on Church Hill trying to look in the courtyard where they were they hung’. People were crowding at Church Hill trying to get a look in.’’
Eade said another person told him their great-grandfather had met the gang on the track. ‘‘He got the chills and moved on.’’
Eades called the Maungatapu murders New Zealand’s ‘‘big Western story’’, and said the events lent themselves to the big-screen treatment.
‘‘There are various companies that have looked at it or are looking at it for a movie. Whether that ever gets off the ground, I don’t know.’’
The story is brought to life on stage by director Giles Burton and local actors Nick Kemplen, Cameron West, Dan Allan and Pete Coates.
Burton said it was an event that really grabbed people back in its day. ‘‘It is a very universal story . . . that kind of lawless nature of a country opening up.’’
Maungatapu will be performed on October 31 at Nelson Musical Theatre. General admission $25, students and seniors $15. Tickets available at iticket.co.nz.