A Better Life

A new play by Elayne Buckler, brought to you by Turn Round Theatre Ōtautahi, with kind sponsorship from Orion...

Dazzled then abandoned by a nightclub singer, Bernadette Riley grapples with motherhood and poverty. Even her one great joy, her daughter, is taken from her, sent by the Catholic church to Australia as part of the Child Migrant Scheme. Set against songs from the times, this original play is about the love between a mother and her child.

Elayne Buckler’s A Better Life takes us from Leeds to New Zealand as Bernadette – determined to find her child - joins the thousands of ‘Ten Pound Poms’ who are part of our city’s story.