From the Director

Political commentator and cartoonist Tom Scott has traded the political for the personal as he delves into his past and the lives of both his parents in these brutally honest, fiercely funny and moving portraits of his mother and father.

From all accounts, they were both extraordinary individuals.  They transcended the disappointments and challenges of their unbringings, their immigration from Ireland to New Zealand and their tough lives in rural Manawatu with resilience, charm and an innate sense of humour.

Just as you might experience a play or a movie quite differently from the way the person sitting next to you is experiencing it, the idea of presenting thest two plays in tandem allows us to look at two people who shared the same experiences but relate them to others in quite different ways: telling both sides of one story.

In The Daylight Atheist, Danny Moffat (Tom's fictitious name for his father) feels more comfortable spinning a yarn to his mates at the pub then dealing with the demands of family life.  He's from the 'lost adolescence' generation who went to war to fight for freedom then resented that they lacked the very freedom they fought for.  He feels trapped by his situation: no money and an ever-increasing family.  Resentful of authority, he's smart and well-read.  But this is mid-century rural New Zealand. Mental health support is practically non-existent.  With no outlet for his depressive state, he turns to booze and vicious humour for self-protection (or to assuage the guilt he feels).  Danny is the life and soul of the party, but unable to deal with the reality of what life has dealt him.

It wasn't all bread and roses for Tom's Mum either.  Joan is a poignant and extremely funny love letter to a mother from an ungrateful son.  Joan is a tough and indomitable Cork woman whose gusto and wonderfully wicked sense of humour supported her and her family through hard times.

All power to Tom for sharing these stories so unflinchingly – in all their pain and humour.  And I'm thrilled that powerhouse actors Michael Hurst, Ginette McDonald and Kate McGill have taken on the challenge of these roles for our ASB Waterfront Theatre season.

We've had a great time bringing Tom Scott's Ma and Da to life.  I know you'll enjoy meeting them.