THE POHUTUKAWA TREE IN WALES

Towards the end of 1960, The Pohutukawa Tree, by Bruce Mason, was presented by the Theatr Fach (Little Theatre) of Llangefni, Anglesey, Wales. The producer, Mr F. G. Fisher, saw the play on BBC Television and decided to put it on in the small Welsh village. Not knowing what a pohutukawa looked like, Mr Fisher sent his designer some 300 miles to Kew Gardens, London, where there was one. The designer returned with a sprig which he said fell to the ground as he was passing! From this sprig, Mr Fisher built a complete tree, flowers and all. For the Maori waiata in the wedding scene, Mr Fisher took a 13th century Welsh lament, changed some of the vowels and asked a Welsh composer to set it in a primitive idiom. The result was an interesting combination of Welsh and Maori. It is understood that the play will be taken on a Welsh provincial tour during 1961.