Children of the Poor

An adaptation of John A. Lee's 1934 novel Children of the Poor follows the formative years of the autobiographical Albany Porcello, a disillusioned adolescent who comes face to face with desperate poverty, misery, crime, and the contempt of Presbyterian Dunedin. 

An ensemble play with musical elements. Thompson's script utilises theatrical devices including direct narration, chorus and dance to his audience with Porcello's emotional tale of poverty and hardship.

"Totally absorbing, deeply moving and immensely powerful" -Keith Harrison, Otago Daily Times

"A stirring impassioned reworking of a forgotten part of our own history, it certainly deserves widespread popular support" -Paul R. Bushnell, The Star (Christchurch)