One of the few shows on in Wel­ling­ton that are not part of the Fringe Fest­iv­al, The Brave is show­ing at the Han­nah Play­house until the end of Feb­ru­ary. Auck­land-based Massive Com­pany have devised a show which explores the ques­tion “What is it to be a man in 2015?” Using the same cast that looked at a sim­il­ar ques­tion in 2006’s Up Close Out Loud, it is a fas­cin­at­ing insight into a pos­it­ive view of mas­culin­ity in New Zea­l­and.

‘Pos­it­ive’ does not mean easy or uncom­plic­ated. It does­n’t mean happy. Instead it is the acknow­ledge­ment of per­son­al growth and learn­ing towards pos­it­ive out­comes for them­selves and their whanau. Con­tent ranges from the mundane e.g. ‘I love KFC’ to more ser­i­ous issues such as abuse, men­tal health, body image, the abil­ity to be one­self. (It felt like being allowed a sneak peek into their circle of friends. It made me won­der about what lies behind the faces of oth­er men.)

Mono­logues and shared scenes are inter­spersed through cho­reo­graphed sec­tions that hint at the phys­ic­al lan­guage shared by men. Games, com­plic­ated hand­shakes, work­ing out, dance, embraces – they are all part of the way in which men com­mu­nic­ate. The phys­ic­al­ity works itself into the stor­ies the men tell as well. Some stand apart to speak, oth­ers are backed up by one or more of the group. Hon­esty, and the desire to be truly hon­est, per­meates every aspect of the show.

Every night there is a post-show for­um which allows the audi­ence to ask ques­tions and share their own exper­i­ences.  The cast and cre­at­ive team have cre­ated a reward­ing pro­duc­tion which man­ages to be both hil­ari­ous and power­fully affect­ing.

  • The Brave at the Han­nah Play­house until 28 Feb­ru­ary 2015.
  • N.B. Tues­day 24 Feb­ru­ary is koha/pay what you like night, mak­ing this show avail­able to every­one.