The Waihi strike was the first union action in New Zealand where women played an active and innovative part. The play follows the changing fortunes of women from the three sectors that clashed dramatically in Waihi: the striking miners; the mine owners and shareholders; and the workers who crossed the line.
The cast is 4 women, 4 men, and 2 children. Some of the characters are based on real people, such as Fred & May Evans,[2] and Bill & Georgina Parry. Other characters are fictional, in an imaginative re-rendering of the story. Bill (William) Parry,[3] the great-grand-uncle of Lorae Parry, was the spokesman for the Miners' Union in Waihi, and later was instrumental in the formation of the NZ Labour Party, and was elected as a member of Parliament.
"Scarlet & Gold[4]" had its first public reading[5] at Circa Theatre,[6] Wellington on 9 July 2016.
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