“Is there life after Shortland Street? Countless Kiwi actors have asked themselves that question after leaving Ferndale. Me included.
After playing the murderous Nurse Carla Crozier in the ’90s, only to return 25 years later to play the same character, only she’d reinvented herself as psycho-therapist Carla Summerfield, I’ve often wondered how many acting opportunities have been lost to me as a result of playing such an unhinged individual.
To beam into the nation’s living rooms at 7pm each weeknight and bludgeon husbands, kidnap children and set fire to opulent houses, it’s not exactly endearing behaviour. As a result, when people ask why I look familiar, rather than confess to being a particularly bad egg from the country’s longest-running soap, I prefer to say, ‘Oh, I have one of those faces.’
Carla gets a taste of her own bad medicine on Shorty.
Luckily for me, acting isn’t my primary profession and today I’m more of a writer. A freelance journalist whose work appears in a variety of publications, including this fine magazine, I also write for the stage and screen. And six years ago, I added documentary-maker to my CV, when I made a revised version of the classic New Zealand television series Islands of the Gulf.
My mother Shirley Maddock made the original version in the 1960s and to have an opportunity to honour my late mother’s work was especially poignant. What’s more, while exploring the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, I befriended conservationists, naturalists and ornithologists, which in turn made me something of a ‘bird nerd’.
Elisabeth retraced her mum Shirley’s footsteps with her Islands of the Gulf project.
As I learned more about our wildlife, notably things with wings, the more fascinated I became and that growing enthusiasm saw me edit an anthology of New Zealand bird writing called Bird Words. In the course of gathering material for that book – which includes works by Sam Hunt, Frank Sargeson and Hone Tūwhare – I stumbled upon the writings of Perrine Moncrieff, a somewhat eccentric woman who fought tirelessly to protect the flora and fauna of Aotearoa.
One thing led to another and the more I discovered about Perrine, the more surprised I was that her story wasn’t better remembered, so to remedy that historical amnesia, I wrote a play about her, which means my latest project to crow about is a one-woman play called A Rare Bird.
Aside from giving me the chance to flex my acting muscles on stage, A Rare Bird is a love letter to New Zealand’s native wildlife, our rivers and oceans, our forests and birds. Because who doesn’t feel elated when they see a kererū fly overhead or hear the call of a tūi? And who doesn’t fret about the threats our native birds face, not least of all mammalian predators?
Starring as writer and wildlife pioneer Perrine Moncrieff.
I am also passionate about telling the stories of trailblazing women, whose lives are often consigned to the backseat of history, so the prospect of presenting Perrine’s life story, including how she championed the cause of conservation before it was fashionable, was especially compelling and is partly why I have created this play so it can be performed not just in theatres, but in the great outdoors, in bird sanctuaries or on the decks of DOC huts.
I’m especially thrilled that A Rare Bird will take its maiden flight in the glorious Hamilton Gardens because this March, as part of the Hamilton Arts Festival, the Char Bagh Garden will be my outdoor opera house. This glorious Indian-inspired space is home to vibrant flowers that bloom year-round beside languid blue pools, while the marble temple, like a mini Taj Mahal, will be my stage. How enchanting for the curtain to go up as the sun goes down, as birds sing their last songs of the evening and the Waikato River flows in the background.
On Tiritiri Matangi with friendly locals, the takaē.
Aside from being entertaining, educational and a little bit emotional, I hope people will see this play and think about what they might do to make the world a better place. Because being kind to nature doesn’t have to mean giving up your day job – it’s merely a matter of improving a small corner of your neighbourhood. Whether you’re picking up rubbish, pulling out weeds or maybe even trapping pests, it’s actually very simple.
You might also find that doing a little good here and there, in our increasingly fraught world, is just the ticket to help lift your spirits.”
Part of the Hamilton Arts Festival, you can see Elisabeth Easther in A Rare Bird from 2-4 March at 6.30pm in the Hamilton Gardens’ Char Bagh Garden. For tickets, see hamiltonartsfestival.co.nz
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