The Fan Brigade Photo: Supplied
In January 2019 the media were captivated with the rude antics of a holidaying British family, littering, stealing and being generally obnoxious.
Opera New Zealand artistic director Thomas De Mallet Burgess was one of the public agog and hatched the idea to turn the story into an opera: The Unruly Tourists. Seeing award-winning music-comedy duo The Fan Brigade perform, De Mallet Burgess approached them to be the librettists. Without a note yet sung, it has become one of Aotearoa’s most controversial operas.
Livi Reihana and Amanda Kennedy are The Fan Brigade, self-described on their website as “stupid ugly feminazi bitches… or talented comedians taking the New Zealand comedy scene by storm (depends who you ask).”
The Unruly Tourists premieres at the Auckland Arts Festival March 22 to 26.
A message for the media from a junior 'unruly tourist' in January 2019. The inspiration for opera The Unruly Tourists Photo: screenshot / nzherald.co.nz
