Kicking Up a Storm

The sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll delirium of the counterculture movement is brought vividly to life in this unique account of the hippie theatre troupe in 1970s Aotearoa New Zealand.

In their gaily painted bus called Stanley, the ‘troupies’ brought their disruptive, sometimes scandalous, brand of performance to the far corners of the land – in parks and theatres, on streets and beaches.

The Living Theatre Troupe, its story told by the people who made it happen, embraced children’s plays, psychedelic shows, nudity, audiences high on drugs and an innocent optimism based on peace, love and flower power. But it also showed how theatre, as part of the anti-war protest movement, helped change the politics of the time.

This inspirational book, with its first-hand accounts through diary entries from the time and interviews with some of the original ‘troupies’, gives a rare glimpse of kiwi culture, ‘can do’ spirit and ancient Maori traditions.

An invaluable record of one of New Zealand’s most revolutionary companies, it offers an important contribution to knowledge for scholars, not only of New Zealand’s theatre history, but also the wider counter-cultural movement in Europe and the USA.

The bigger story resonates beyond theatre. It concerns the importance of belonging; how we build on what has gone before us and how we pass on a powerful legacy to those who come after us – as captured in the Maori concept of whakapapa (genealogy).

Author Biography

Kenneth Rea studied at the University of Auckland, NZ, and Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. After working as a leading actor and director in New Zealand, where he founded the Living Theatre Troupe, he studied theatre in Bali, Java, India, China and Japan, as well as studying with leading European teachers. He was Professor of Theatre at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, UK, and has also taught in the national drama academies of China, India, Italy and New Zealand. He is the author of The Outstanding Actor: Seven Keys to Success, now in its second edition (Methuen Drama, 2021).