Kristina Jensen
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South Island ▷ Nelson Region ▷ Abel Tasman ▷
John the Walrus
5.0/5
Here's our review for John Crick's awesome one man show, Kauri Jack.
We're scoring it 10 out of 10. He performed this show at the Mussel Inn in Takaka, Golden Bay on June 13th, 2019.
We found John's performance very moving, a coming-to-life of New Zealand's history. John's delivery had the audience completely mesmerized. Kauri Jack is part poem, part oratory, weaving through the lives of 'Aotearoa ghosts' that John has discovered in his research into New Zealand history and his own personal roots.
He brings each person to life in a unique and celebratory way, with his voice rising and falling for dramatic effect, using just the minimal amount of words and phrases. Many of his speech patterns come from the past, creating an atmosphere of suspense and longing, especially where the characters have journeyed far from home and experienced great challenges. We were both reminded of Homer's Ulysses, a true epic.
Hello there folks, wonderful to have you at the performance, and that's a mighty generous review. I'm very grateful.
The link you mention with Homer's Ulysses/Odyssey gives me great joy and knocks off my holy socks.
You see, long-ago, climbing at Aoraki/Mt Cook in a summer of endless storms, my copy of The Odyssey (given to me by my mentor when I left home), was our only book. Under a few salubrious bivvy-rocks (and in a hut or two), I read all of it aloud to my fellow-troglodytes. It's a fond memory. I'm so glad that happened way back...But now, right out of the blue, the Ulysses comment here joins this gnarly old wandering, yarn-spinning Walrus with his young self, setting out ~ the insight you've offered is a great gift and I deeply thank you.
John Crick