Le Sud

This play assumes that the French successfully colonised the South Island in 1839 and South Zealand or ‘Le Sud’ became an independent French-speaking nation. Today ‘Le Sud’ is a prosperous socialist country where people work 30 hours a week, enjoy long wine-fuelled lunches, and the popular Prime Minister Francois Duvauchelle is a renowned womaniser. The English-speaking citizens of the North Island are far less happy. North Zealanders work long hours for little reward, their free-market experiment ended in disaster, and race relations are at an all time low. Starved of much-needed electricity, North Zealand lives in permanent recession. Le Sud is the story of Prime Minister Jim Petersen’s southbound delegation to beautiful Wanaka in search of a cheaper power deal. Originally commissioned by the Festival of Colour, Wanaka. Warning: this play contains many hilarious jabs at the political, sporting, religious, racial and cultural values that New Zealanders hold dear! Written by Dave Armstrong Directed by Conrad Newport Produced by Armstrong Creative