Writer Tarell Alvin McCraney A critically-lauded play by an emerging gay American writer is coming to an Auckland stage, where it will be retold with a Maori and Pacific zest. The Brothers Size is the work of a leading young voice of African American theatre Tarell Alvin McCraney. The 30-year-old gay writer penned the play when he was 25 and studying at Yale Drama School, where he found his feet after being raised in the projects of Miami with family members who battled drug addiction and a mother who died of an AIDS-related illness. McCraney's work tells the story of Louisiana brothers, one recently paroled and the other straight-living, hardworking and protective, as they encounter a charming ex-con with his own claims to brotherhood. The writer mixes street slang and poetry and writes in manner the New York Times describes as “with a passion and urgency that can't be faked, in a style that invests ordinary lives with the grandeur of ancient gods. Watching these plays, you experience the excited wonder that comes from witnessing something rare in the theatre : a new, authentically original vision…” The Chicago Tribute goes so far as to describe it as “the greatest piece of writing by an American playwright under 30 in a generation or more”. Auckland's Silo Theatre is taking the piece on and will put it onstage next month with the acting trio of Pua Magasiva, Jarod Rawiri and Te Kohe Tuhaka. Under the direction of Silo's Artistic Director Shane Bosher the Auckland version of the play will explore the counterpoint between New Zealand's cultural heartbeat and contemporary African-American culture. Auckland composer Tama Waipara has been commissioned to create a soundtrack which will fuse West African drumming, soul, R
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 20th April 2011 - 1:07pm