Popular documentary theatre piece Bittersweet — Unwrapping Cadburys returns for the Dunedin Heritage Festival.
After sold-out performances in June, Bittersweet will return for three performances only at Otago Pioneer Women’s Hall, from November 19 to 21, at 2pm.
A celebration of the day-to-day life of one of Dunedin’s best-known industries, Bittersweet shares the stories of seven women workers at Cadbury Dunedin.
Theirs are the everyday stories behind the factory’s nearly 150 years of chocolate manufacture, and what it brought to the city and the world.
Production ceased at Cadbury in 2018, the workers and machines are all long gone and the buildings have recently been demolished to make way for the new Dunedin Hospital.
Now, stories and memories are all that remain of Cadbury Dunedin.
In Bittersweet, the performers use verbatim theatre techniques to vividly relate the former workers’ stories.
With the audio of interviews with the workers playing in their ears, the actors not only repeat their original words as they were spoken, but replicate inflections, intonation and movements.
Bookings are essential for Bittersweet, with limited numbers due to Covid-19 restrictions. To book, visit southernheritage.org.nz/heritage-festival
