A host of historical insights
Palmy Fringe Festival: Kono – Song Cycle of a New Town by Toi Warbrick, FX2 Theatre, Square Edge, Palmerston North, October 10 – 13. Reviewed by Richard Mays.
Papaioea – the word doesn’t mean what you probably think. The name given to a Palmerston North suburb and how the city is labelled nationally during Te Wiki o Te Reo Ma¯ ori has been translated as ‘‘how beautiful it is’’.
The truth is somewhat darker, and the connotations and nuances of the name’s origins are laid bare in Kono, a musically accompanied excursion through the city’s history.
Performed as a recital by Warren and Virginia Warbrick, the story of how Palmerston North came to be returns from the Edinburgh Fringe for its own short Palmy Fringe season.
The story encompasses the legend of the tree-spirit Okatia, who smashed his way through the ranges in his attempts to reach the sea, creating the Manawatu¯ River.
Then there’s the story of Hau, who chasing after a wayward wife, named the west coast rivers south from Taranaki.
A combination of visuals – each member of the audience is presented with an impressively designed and decorated foldout map – waiata, poetry, song, narrative and Warren Warbrick’s hand-crafted taonga pu¯ oro, Kono is conducted as a conversation.
We don’t get the full picture, though. At five points in the 45-minute long performance, the audience gets to pick the path of the piece, giving Kono 32 possible permutations.
Accessible, revealing and personable, Kono offers an intriguing insight into the city’s origins that contains plenty of possibilities for extension.