Another Feather In Her Cap

Morag Brownlie has never been afraid to push boundaries and follow her own path. Just out of dance school she decided to run away to Africa and study African dance and stilt-walking.

While living in a small village in Tanzania she joined the Bagamoyo Players and toured small towns and villages performing dance theatre shows to raise Aids awareness.

Her ongoing love affair with performance, dance theatre and adventure didn’t stop there. Brownlie went on to mime, stilt walk and dance all around the world; on the way taking time to make films and write, direct and produce her own multi-media shows, garnering a trail of critical acclaim and rave reviews along the way.

Back in New Zealand, Brownlie designed costumes for Douglas Wright and Shona McCullough, and then went on to create large scale special events such as the Team New Zealand America’s Cup Balls, Sky City's ‘Enchanted City’ and choreography and visuals for the spectacular World of Wearable Art shows.

For her latest show ‘Birds of Paradise’, which is part of the Tempo Festival of Dance, Brownlie has again pushed into new territory with what she describes as a “Cabaret Burlesque Comedy”.

“With this show, I was interested in courtship rituals so Burlesque just seemed to be the natural genre,” she says. “The show is like a long undressing - not just about shedding layers of clothes but shedding layers of restraint.

“It’s quite political,” she adds, “but hilarious ... with lots of singing!”
With Caitlin Smith and Mika sharing vocal duties, music by SJD, and a cast of stars including Leda Petite, Cubanos and Pacifika Sway, this is one show that just has to be experienced. Brownlie’s fantastical, quirky and spectacularly costumed shows truly defy description.

Visit: www.birdsofparadise.co.nz