The Engine Room

Trick of the Light is the award-winning Wellington theatre company of Ralph McCubbin Howell and Hannah Smith, who make and tour original work around Aotearoa and the world. This year we are marking our t̶e̶n̶ ELEVEN year anniversary with a reading of our first play, The Engine Room.

“In 1981 a racially selected South African rugby team toured New Zealand for the first time in fifteen years, and our country was plunged into chaos. Flash forward a few decades, and the 2008 election saw the conflict make headlines again, when National leader John Key told reporters he ‘couldn’t remember’ his position on the tour. So what was John doing during these fateful months? And where was Aunty Helen? The Engine Room imagines these political icons in a partly factual, mostly fictional account of two seminal moments in New Zealand’s history. First performed in 2011, the show received Outstanding New Playwright of the Year at the Chapman Tripp (Wellington) Theatre Awards.”

Ten years of trickery is something to celebrate. Unfortunately covid nixed our party last year. Join us as we mark ELEVEN years in the biz. Come for the reading and stick around afterwards for an evening of live music, yarns, brews and some kai.

“AN INGENIOUS SHOW... SIMULTANEOUSLY INTOXICATING AND SOBERING.”
THEATREVIEW
Written by Ralph McCubbin Howell

Directed by Hannah Smith

Read by Erin Banks, Alex Greig, Paul Harrop, and special guest Anya Tate-Manning