Red Heavens

From Stromboli to D’Urville Island.

Martine Baanvinger who performed ‘Solitude'(2019) and ‘Aperture’ (2021) with Arts on Tour NZ, brings another powerful, dynamic and passionate solo show to the stage.

‘Red Heavens’ portrays the true story of Angelina Moleta, an Italian pioneering immigrant on D’Urville Island, whose fate is intertwined with the forces of nature and her deep connection with a Ariki-Tapairu Māori woman.

Growing up on the active volcanic island of Stromboli, she is betrothed to her cousin who brings her, in the year 1906, to the even more remote D’Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds. Through hardship and an unlikely friendship, she grows into womanhood and motherhood.

This bitter and beautiful tale is inspired by the book ‘Angelina’ by New Zealand author Gerard Hindmarsh who wrote this book about his grandmother.