"After sketching the likeness of this defenseless chick, I sacrificed his little life on the altar of science and made a pretty little cabinet specimen of the skin." Walter Buller 

 

A vivid account of the clashes between Empire and Nature in the 19th century, Dr Buller’s Birds unfolds on the shores of Lake Papaitonga as two old friends meet to close some weighty business. Walter Buller, ornithologist and intimidating barrister, prepares one last specimen as he awaits ailing war hero Te Keepa Rangihiwinui.

With a haunting cinematic soundscape and a set developed with the support of Weta Workshop, Nick Blake’s stunning theatrical version of a moment in our nation’s history paints a landscape in crisis, where only the fittest survive and the huia is a helpless casualty. Is nature any safer with us?

 

Writer and Director – Nick Blake

Lighting Design – Martyn Roberts

Sound Design – Matt Lambourn

Projection Design – Andrew Brettell

With Peter Hambleton and Rawiri Paratene

 

If this event interests you, our Artistic Director also recommends King and Country and Earth from Above.

25 Feb, 8:00pm
26 Feb, 4:00pm
28 Feb, 6:30pm
01 Mar, 6:30pm
02 Mar, 8:00pm
03 Mar, 8:00pm
04 Mar, 8:00pm
05 Mar, 4:00pm
07 Mar, 6:30pm
08 Mar, 6:30pm
09 Mar, 8:00pm
10 Mar, 8:00pm
11 Mar, 8:00pm
12 Mar, 4:00pm
14 Mar, 6:30pm
15 Mar, 6:30pm
16 Mar, 8:00pm
17 Mar, 8:00pm
18 Mar, 8:00pm
19 Mar, 4:00pm