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25 August - 8 September 2007, Nibelheim, The Arts Centre
Diana Down Under explores the life that the dead princess still lives in our media and our minds. As Elizabeth Wilson writes, "To begin with she was simply the ingénue, the fairy princess, but she rapidly became mother, crazy neurotic, wife betrayed, self-obsessed narcissist, glamour star, woman-struggling-for-independence, survivor, and, latterly, saint, strong woman, and even political interventionist. This excess, amplified by the media, meant that she became a copy without an original, a multiple personality with no 'real' Diana to which her public could return." When Diana visited New Zealand, she was led to attend the ballet Coppelia where a fairytale puppet becomes alive through desires and fantasies.
Free Theatre's new production, directed by Peter Falkenberg, presents a puppet manufactory where the un-dead Diana is revived by the manipulations of different puppeteers for the entertainment of an audience. Coinciding with the tenth anniversary of her death, the performance takes place "down under" in the Arts Centre performance space, Nibelheim (South Quad, Old Library, under the SoFA Gallery), 8pm Tuesday to Sunday, from 25th August through 8th September. Tickets are $15/$10 and are available from Te Puna Toi in the Arts Centre, phone 365 3159. Bookings recommended as places are limited. |
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A short film Diana Coppelia (above) was created out of material from the production. Filmed and edited by Ryan Reynolds. 
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ReviewsDiana Downunder is dark and raw, a real shot in the arm for cynics who dismiss the unpleasant side of fame as something that comes with the territory. It is an intense hour punctuated by black moments of humour, including a fantastic nightclub scene... 
There is plenty to say, a sense of purpose and discipline in the multiple performances, and some very effective moment of heightened theatricality.... a provocative exercise in theatre... 
Because of their connections with the group, a Free Theatre performance was not a new experience for David and Pam, but it was for us. While they had no idea of the plot they did know and told us that it would be a little out out of the ordinary. They were right and that was good because it was thought-provoking. We were left wondering was Princess Diana, sadly deprived of the affection she craved throughout her life, in the end just a puppet of the media or had she in fact manipulated it for her own purposes only to end up its slave? 
PublicityPuppets to portray people's perception of princess
Chronicle, 6 September 2007 
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