This play is based on true events. Most of the characters named were real.
We see the plight of many children from impoverished families in England during the Industrial Revolution—abused and starving James Coley is driven to a life of crime.
He is arrested and sentenced to prison for 10 years at the age of 13. A lifeline was thrown to selected youths who were transferred to Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight. Redemption was on offer.
128 boy convicts arrived in Auckland during 1842 to the utter surprise and alarm of the citizens who protested and eventually ensured that New Zealand would not receive more of these “Parkhurst seedlings”.
James vows to reform his ways. He meets Rebecca Massey, the daughter of a ‘Fencible’ soldier who are tasked with protecting Auckland from Māori marauders during the Waikato Land Wars.
The couple marry and settle down until their world is turned upside down by the arrival of a fellow convict from James’ past.
Expandable cast, 8 plus.