Let 2009 begin with a fresh gust of Wellington theatre ...

Turbine opens on Friday (there are still cheap $20 tickets left for the preview on Thursday), and we hope you enjoy the return of the SEEyD Theatre Company to Downstage. Here

“I mean why were these guys here? To convince us that our view wouldn’t look that bad once the wind farm was built? I just never understood what they were trying to do. They certainly never showed any sign of taking our concerns into consideration. They were here for three hours on a Sunday for Christ’s sake.”

Hearing this from a Makara resident 3 years ago got me interested in the wind farm debate. Most of us are pro-wind for obvious reasons but we don’t think about what it would be like to live within a kilometre of a turbine the size of a football field. It would be hard to imagine what that was going to be like. We would worry about all sorts of things that we didn’t fully understand like how the noise might affect us or if it would affect our property price. We would probably then find information on the internet that would support, even enhance our fears and a battle between us and the power company might follow.

Interviewing people on both sides of the debate uncovered a more complex issue than I had anticipated, but when I was told by Meridian that the Makara residents “Didn’t want to hear the relevant explanations for their various concerns” I thought that’s it! At what point will people make a compromise? What sort of pressure needs to be applied to a person before they listen; see the other side’s point of view; change their minds about an issue … any issue, whether it be politics or relationships. From that point it was easier to know what we were writing about and from that point the human story of Turbine was developed.

Turbine was first presented two years ago at Bats Theatre but the issues surrounding wind farms have hardly changed. What has changed is the play itself. Having the opportunity to rework a play for a second season is a vital part of developing any play but one we seldom get the opportunity to do. I would like to thank Downstage for giving us that precious opportunity.

Tim Spite
Director