What can happen to the talented child of a famous parent when they struggle for recognition is explored in a play to be staged in Arrowtown.
Arts on Tour New Zealand presents Dancing in the Wake, based on the life of Lucia Joyce, daughter of Irish novelist and poet James Joyce, in the Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall on June 2. Playwright-director-actress Jan Bolwell has recreated 1920s Paris where Lucia trained to be a dancer.
The play blends drama, dance and music to tell Lucia's story. She was diagnosed in her mid-20s with schizophrenia and supported by her troubled lover, playwright Samuel Beckett, while struggling with the views of her parents.
Bolwell plays both old and young Lucia, Sacha Copland dances as young Lucia (pictured) and John Smythe plays Samuel Beckett, James Joyce (pictured) and Carl Jung. Tickets cost $20, from Lakes District Museum.