Comprising David Ward (whose previous theatrical credits include The Dentist's Chair, Guru Of Chai and Kiss The Fish, Peter Daube (Stories Told To Me By Girls) and Dave Khan (who has performed and recorded with The Bads, Tim Finn, Don McGlashan Band and Tami Neilson), the threesome are on an Arts on Tour NZ-funded sojourn that includes several shows in the South.
Ward, speaking from Reefton earlier this week, says the shows comprise a mix of history and legend, the group's songs ranging from ballads to sea shanties to bluegrass and blues, all telling the stories of people trying to carve a new life in a land at the bottom of the world.
The show comprises eight songs, five of which can be found on the trio's album A Hundred Trees, released late last year with the help of Creative New Zealand funding.
''The songs have all been inspired by stories from New Zealand's history, legends and characters that we thought would make good stories,'' Ward explains.
''Peter and I did the research, immersing ourselves in books and stories. We both worked on the words, then worked out how to fit the music to it. Once the songs were at a stage where we were ready to rehearse them, we brought in Dave Khan, who is a fantastic musician and can play virtually anything.
''Peter is a fantastic actor, but he has also written music for theatre and dance. He used to live in a house in front of me in Auckland and the first time I met him was when he arrived carrying a bottle of whisky and a banjo. I showed him my room that had about five banjos and it went from there,'' Ward says.
''Peter definitely carries most of the weight in terms of telling the story. The music is really there to serve the story and the atmosphere and to draw the audience in. The way Dave Khan and I play, we are inhabiting minor characters ourselves.
''It's an interesting mix of storytelling, music and theatre.
''There were some really fascinating stories,'' Ward says, referring to songs such as A Hundred Trees, about workers on the Raurimu Spiral on the main trunk line, where gambling was rife and cocktails of whisky, meths and cough mixture helped to ease the hardship.
Another is Confession, based on the real and erudite confession of Dick Burgess and the murders for profit he and his gang committed against Otago gold diggers. As a young boy, having been arrested, shipped and flogged for misdemeanours, he vowed he'd take ''a life for every lash'', Ward says.
''He was obviously a nasty piece of work, but his last words at the gallows were, `I've got no more fear of death than going to a wedding'.''
The Eastern hitting the road
Irrepressible outfit The Eastern is on the road again, doing a series of weekend jaunts around the country over the next couple of months before heading to Europe for two months in New Zealand's spring.
Other plans are afoot, too. A new album has been completed and will be released in October and a three-part ''drama miniseries'', named after the group's album Hope and Wire and directed by Gaylene Preston, is in the wings.
In the meantime, fans of The Eastern's Adam McGrath and Jess Shanks (and a revolving cast) can witness their live energy at a series of shows in the South.
''We're playing as a three-piece at Northburn Station, Cromwell, on Wednesday, May 21, then as a six-piece at Chick's Hotel on Friday, May 23, along with Matt Langley,'' McGrath says, adding the line-up will then head to Bluff, where it will perform at the town's Oyster and Food Festival next Saturday.
See them, hear them
Wheel Of Experience performs at the following venues in the South:
Earnscleugh Hall, Central Otago, tonight, 7.30pm
Community Centre, Stewart Island, Tuesday, May 20, 7.30pm
Community Arts Centre, Riverton, Wednesday, May 21, 7.30pm
Hansen Hall, SIT campus, Invercargill, Thursday, May 22, 7.30pm
Memorial Community Centre, Owaka, Friday May 23, 7pm
ODT Inkbox, Oamaru Opera House, Saturday, May 24, 7.30pm
Mackenzie Country Hotel, Twizel, Sunday, May 25, 7.30pm
- The Eastern plays Northburn Station, Cromwell, on Wednesday, May 21, Chick's Hotel, Port Chalmers, Friday, May 23, with Matt Langley, and at the Bluff Oyster and Food Festival on Saturday, May 24.
