Teachers remember Nancy Brunning her lasting impact

Thursday, 21 November 2019

Actor and writer Nancy Brunning died on Saturday, aged 48.

A number of teachers from Taupōnui-a-Tia College can recall with fondness the involvement, and impact, actor, director and writer Nancy Brunning had at the school through her involvement in drama in the 1980s.

Brunning died last week a day before posthumously being awarded the top playwriting award in New Zealand - the 2019 Bruce Mason Award.

Geography and Social Studies teacher Jan Grey says Brunning was at the school just as innovative drama teacher Gwyneth Glover began looking into staging New Zealand productions.

'It was quite unusual for those days.'

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This meant Grey, who was involved with costuming and props, and director/producer Glover, sometimes took up the writing mantle themselves, penning first one based on the myths and legends of Aotearoa, 'Legend' and then boldly deciding to adapt the Witi Ihimaera novel 'Whale Rider' for the stage.

And they had to get permission from Ihimaera to do so, says Grey.

Nancy Brunning was well-known for her role of Nurse Jaki in Shortland Street.

'He was delightful and said we had to all come over and stay with his family at Whangara.'

This was accomplished in the school minibus - an old Bedford truck adapted for dropping forestry workers out on the job.

Later when the play opened Ihimaera and his family travelled to Taupō to watch it.

Science teacher Nigel Vanner who was also heavily involved in drama at the school recalls an early audition Glover was running in one of the school's prefabs.

'That was the first time I became aware of Nancy as an actor. She was incredible.'

A screencap of Nancy Brunning in Lee Tamahori's film Mahana.

Grey said Nancy was normally quiet and subdued but she turned into this completely different person when on stage.

'She was this forceful character on the stage.'

Grey believes these were formative stage experiences for Brunning.

Both productions ended up being chosen by the New Zealand Theatre Federation to travel overseas and represent New Zealand at international youth theatre festivals; 'Legend' to Portugal in 1987 and 'Whale Rider' to Japan in 1989.

Vanner remembers that Brunning was also an asset offstage.

'For a lot of these kids it was their first time overseas or even away from home and she really held them all together. She was a real strength.'

He has also been recently reminded that Brunning was one of the student representatives who served on the committee overseeing the establishment of the school's marae in the 1980s.

Multi-talented artist, Nancy Brunning was farewelled at Raukawa Marae on Wednesday.

'So she had quite a hand in that whole process.'

For Grey, Brunning's beginnings at the college with the homegrown production of 'Legend' and 'Whale Rider' lent her final work a certain poignancy.

'What was really cool was I think she had just finished writing a production of all sorts of strong female characters from Witi Ihimaera stories ('Witi's Wāhine'). So in a sense that has come full circle.'

Glover said Brunning was a proud member of the Taupō community and never forgot her roots.

'I remember auditioning Nancy for the group of students I was drawing together to take to the Oporto Festival of Theatre. I was always worried that there was such a division between the Maori and the European students and I wanted a piece that could be more representative of NZ and could draw the students together.

'I chose to create a piece that used Maori and biblical myths and legends. To my delight there were several students from the Maori Studies Department that auditioned and Nancy was among them. As soon as she read for me the chills ran down my spine. This little fourth form girl had a way with words and could create atmosphere as she read.

'I knew immediately that here was a rare talent, and so it was. She went on from 'Legend' to 'Hitler Dances' to 'The Whale Rider' and as Witi Ihimaera recently said, she was the first Nanny Flowers, before the movie was even thought of.'

Brunning has been in the midst of the renaissance of Māori performance, Glover says, and instrumental in the introduction of Māori material at Toi Whakaari in Wellington.

'I went to Gisborne to see her 'Witi's Women' which is a great play and was beautifully performed. I am glad that Nancy made it to see her play, but she was obviously very ill and it was with great grief that I had to say goodbye to her.'