A journey of the mind, through song and story about New Zealand’s on and off again love affair with its passenger railway system.
Equal parts tragedy, comedy, and personal memoir, Rail Land weaves the songs of Anthonie Tonnon with custom material written for the show, historical letters to the editor, and meticulous notes on the railway systems of New Zealand.
The show also travels with an exhibition of historic NZ Rail advertising department posters and schematic maps, blown up to large scale.
In its first two summers, audiences took trains to reach each show. At selected locations on this new, Arts on Tour edition of Rail Land, audiences are welcomed to join Anthonie for special public transport journeys at selected locations.
Tonnon begins, hands on the wheel, then peppers his sets with these kooky kinetic dramatic segues. It’s captivating to watch... Imagine if David Byrne was born in Dunedin thirty years ago, growing up on Submarine Bells... He layers sounds, turns the audience into his percussive backing track, dives from synth to guitar to keyboard…. He’s laying out a commentary on that future promised by yesteryear, where rail was the way to go - Jess Soutar Barron - The Hook
Book: www.themeteor.co.nz
Take The Comet to Rail Land: Departs from The Base/ Rotokauri Transport Hub at 5.31pm. Return journey at 8:05pm. Pay with your Bee Card.
