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Erua

Television (Full Length) – 1988

Erua tells the story of an intriguing friendship between artist Toss Woollaston (Grant Tilly) and a young Māori boy Erua (Turei Reedy) who modelled for him each Wednesday evening in Greymouth, in the early 60s. Woollaston had seen the boy playing "like one dark bead shaken in a tray of pale ones". The image made him curious to find what Erua was like, and to try to draw "that". Tilly won a 1989 NZ Film and Television Award for his performance; he argued that it was "an awesome responsibility" to play someone who was still alive. Erua also won awards for Best Drama and Screenplay.

"Thy eternal summer shall not fade ..."
– Toss (Grant Tilly) reads a Shakespearian sonnet to Erua (Turei Reedy)

Key Cast & Crew

Profile image for Grant Tilly

Grant Tilly

As: Toss Woollaston

Profile image for David Copeland

David Copeland

Director

Profile image for Ruth Franks

Ruth Franks

Producer

Profile image for Rawiri Paratene

Rawiri Paratene

Writer

Generic Profile image for Dinah Priestley

Dinah Priestley

As: Edith Woollaston

Generic Profile image for Bub Bridger

Bub Bridger

As: Mrs Brown

See all 21 credits

Acknowledgements

NZ On Screen acknowledges the talent and creatives for allowing NZ On Screen to reproduce this title on this website.


 

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