2024
Artistic Director’s Message

Sam Scott (Artistic Director)

Kia ora Sam, 

For many years you have been a beam of inspiration to me, a kind of benchmark that has influenced my core values about what theatre can and should be, and the absolute vital role it has in our communities, and for our people.

What I admire the most about Massive and your mahi is your unwavering commitment to tell meaningful, relevant and complex stories that reflect the very essence of being a human right here, and right now. 

I often tell people that Massive is my favourite theatre company in New Zealand, not only because of your incredible art that has an unmatched relevance to Aotearoa, but also because of the awhi Massive provides to budding creatives across our motu, and the long term impacts of that. 

In a way, for me, the Sam Scott and Lennie James trilogy has framed my journey in theatre, so far. In the early 2000s The Sons of Charlie Paora was the second theatre show I ever saw, and its impact on me was, well Massive. Absolutely massive. It struck me deeply and took me from being a teenager who thought acting was just something fun, to beginning to see the true power and importance in theatre and honest storytelling. It impacted me, and my path, and contributed to me choosing to study theatre at uni.

Havoc in the Garden split me open. It was one of the few times that I have seen a show that was cathartic for me personally. It made me feel seen, and it made me feel valid, and it made me deeply appreciate that storytelling like this even exists. It was such a beautiful, powerful, raw, and honest piece of work. At the time, I'd returned from university and I didn't know what my next step was. That show moved me so fundamentally that I wrote a letter to the editor about it - and that planted a seed that then germinated into my journalism career. A place where I could share the stories of others, where a spotlight could be shone on marginalised voices and injustices, and on art.  

Then, Half of the Sky comes to my hometown. By now, I am a mother - a fulltime mother to a beautiful three year old, who is back to considering how I want to contribute to the arts in the future. 

And again, here is this gift. A beautiful show that reflects what it's like to be a human. A story that takes all of these messy strands of the human experience, and doesn't seek to answer or provide a neat little ribbon to wrap up all the complexities into a sugar coated solution. Instead, we experience the light and the dark, and their existence within each other. Again we feel seen, as if someone is telling us it is okay that life is complex, that our experiences are sometimes confronting and that growth can often be really damn uncomfortable.

How fortunate we are to see work that is so rooted in the now, that is so vitally in touch with the essence of the ordinary human experience. 

Half of The Sky is both rich, and stripped back. Rich in humanity, and stripped of pretence. The story is handled with care and respect, and that commitment to honouring the messiness of the human experience is the reason why we connect enough to open our hearts and cry. It's also why we laugh, because we get it. Through that commitment to truth we see ourselves busting out our old TLC moves, we see our own sisters, we see our own children, and we see our own loved ones who faced the same heartbreak. And we feel it all. Every ounce of it. The light and the dark. 

Half of the Sky is just incredible, in every single way. Incredible in its touching honesty and incredible in its thoughtful interpretation and nuanced delivery. This is the kind of theatre that matters. 

So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is thank you. Thank you all for your commitment to sharing raw, meaningful, relevant and vital work about us. Thank you for doing it with such skill and care. Thank you for bringing it to the regions and increasing accessibility to impactful art. And thank you for being the benchmark for storytelling in New Zealand. 

Ngā mihi nui,
Taryn