Paul Maunder - Performer Photo: supplied
In his just-released memoir Performer, theatre-maker, film director, writer and community activist Paul Maunder reflects on a life lived in both the mainstream and on the fringes.
His CV includes working at the National Film Unit and on the film Sons For The Return Home.
On the stage he's worked in experimental, bi-cultural, mainstream, fringe and community-based theatre.
In the 1970s he found the Wellington theatre scene too dull and set in its ways. So he founded the influential Amamus Theatre group that staged improvised documentary plays on historical subjects like the Great Depression and the 1951 waterfront lockout.
Paul Maunder now lives in Blackball on the West Coast, where he works with a community-based theatre group. Kiwi/Possum Productions who look at local issues including 1080 poison, race relations and the Pike River Mine disaster.
Lynn Freeman first took Paul back to his childhood, which was marked by several quite traumatic events, including his mother's sudden disappearance.
Performer, a memoir by Paul Maunder is published by Te Puawai and available here.
