Trained stage and screen actress and yoga teacher Sandi Murphy, of Arthur's Point, revived her solo performance of Verbatim after a chance conversation with Arrowtown entrepreneur and arts supporter Michael Hill, who was in her yoga class, in mid-May.
Mr Hill offered the clubhouse at The Hills golf course, near Arrowtown, for the two performances of the play, which was written and devised by William Brandt and Miranda Harcourt.
Ms Murphy said all words were verbatim of what convicted murderers, families of murder victims and families of murderers expressed in more than 30 interviews.
The writers toured the 1992 play in New Zealand prisons as drama therapy.
"They used a bit of artistic licence to turn it into a series of monologues, which can bounce off the six characters.
"You have to be clear in your performances, as there are no costume changes."
Ms Murphy, the mother of a 20-month-old son, will play the central character of Aaron Daly, a 22-year-old New Zealander serving life in prison for murder. She also plays Aaron's elder sister, their mother, Daly's girlfriend, plus the murder victim and the victim's husband.
"Everyone has a different perspective on the murder, so it almost has the tone of a documentary, although it's not one person's particular story."
Ms Murphy first performed Verbatim during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and in London pub theatres, including on an old barge on the River Thames, in 2001.
"I like the more meaty roles I can get my teeth into.
"Often the characters are more interesting from the wrong side of the tracks.
"I'm not that way at all. It's fun to dabble in what you don't know."
The Queenstown-raised, former Wakatipu High School pupil trained at Vancouver Film School in 1998, after graduating with a theatre and film degree from Victoria University, in Wellington, in 1995.
The play aimed to throw light on domestic violence and support the Wakatipu Abuse Prevention Network [WAPN], Ms Murphy said.
"This is what inspired me to give all proceeds to WAPN and draw awareness to a problem that underlines the majesty of this place."
• Verbatim, The Hills Clubhouse, McDonnell Rd, Arrowtown, July 23 and July 24.
Show begins at 7.30pm.
Tickets $45 including drink and pizza after the show.
Silent auction.
All proceeds to the Wakatipu Abuse Prevention Network.
Bookings essential: 021-780-555 (Julie Scott), or jscott@thehills.co.nz.
WAPN: 03-442-7145 - 24 hours.
