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Cast
Ray Shipley
Ash
Andrew Todd
Peter
Kathleen Burns Director
Giles Tanner Lighting Designer
Julian Southgate Puppet Design and Construction
Emma Katene
Robin Nic Kyle Ryan
Reylene Rose Hilaga
Wolf
Production
Hannah McDougall Set & Props Designer
Dan Bain Sound Designer
Deacon Henry Boxing Coach
Acknowledgements
Daniella Salazar Costume Designer
Tim Bain Stage Manager & Operator
Cherie Moore Voice Coach
Hillary Moulder & Kim Garrett (Production Support), Dan Bain (Hero Image), Dr. Hansol Oh (Cultural Advice), Ted Eason (Rehearsal Room Photography), Sam Dalton (Stage Photography), Rahil Uddin (Stage Videography), Sarah Rowan (Video Editing), and Annabelle McClure of My Glam Booth.
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Running Time: 90 minutes with no interval.
Wolf Play by Hansol Jung is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. Wolf Play was commissioned by Artists Repertory Theatre. Dámaso Rodriguez, Artistic Director Sarah Horton/JS May, Managing Director Portland Oregon. Wolf Play was first produced as a National New Play Network Roling World Premiere by Artists Repertory Theatre (Oregon) and Company One Theatre (Massachusetts). Wolf Play received its New York premiere at Soho Rep., New York, NY. Sarah Benson, Artistic Director Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director. Developed By Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago, Illinois. Chay Yew, Artistic Director Erica Daniels, Managing Director.
As part of IGNITION Festival of New Plays 2017.
Wolf Play staged at The Court Theatre 18 October - 22 November 2025
Nau mai, haere mai.
We warmly welcome you to Wolf Play. Hansol Jung is the kind of acclaimed contemporary international playwright that holds an essential role within our season programming. Jung is the recipient of multiple awards, and her work is recognised for its lyrical precision, originality, and finely balanced combination of bite and warmth. Inspired by the gruelling investigative reporting into “disrupted adoptions,” Wolf Play digs deep, while also drawing upon a mischievous sense of humour and humanity.
To this, our talented creative team and cast bring their own unique creative voice and skill. In staging one of the best international voices, we also showcase the talents of Aotearoa artists. Director, Kathleen Burns, has brought together a
superb design team and cast (including one beautifully crafted and animated puppet: our Jeenu)!
Premiering exciting works such as Wolf Play is made possible by the support of funders, sponsors, and audiences who value creative, resonant theatre as much as we do. We are grateful to our core partner Christchurch City Council, core funder Creative New Zealand, our 2025 season sponsor, Ryman Healthcare, and our show sponsor, Great Journeys New Zealand. Like Great Journeys, The Court Theatre is about creating memorable experiences. We are proud and grateful to share this experience with you.
Enjoy the show!
Alison Walls Artistic Director
Hansol Jung wrote Wolf Play after reading a news article about adoptive parents using Facebook and Yahoo groups to re-home their adopted children.
The backdrop to this story is huge and complex. A program began in 1953 that saw South Korean children adopted out to families in the United States following the Korean war. Since then, thousands and thousands of these children have been adopted out. This program was the first of its kind, provided a blueprint that would be implemented by other countries, and endures to this day. It is a fraught system, where good intentions meet ignorant saviourism; where corporate greed and political agendas exploit cultural norms and expectations.
This play can’t solve these problems.
What it can do is explore one child’s need for survival in the wake of displacement.
In the play, Wolf will tell you “Naturally, the arm folds inwards.” It’s a metaphor for the psychological reality that people instinctively favour their own. Whether you interpret that as being a celebration of the care one has for those they love, or a critique of favouritism, there’s no escaping it being a universal truth.
This play is for people who like creative storytelling. This is for people who have a heart. I hope this play makes you feel something, makes you laugh, and makes you curious.
I’d like to acknowledge the incredible amount of work the cast, crew and creatives have put into Wolf Play.
Awwooooooo!
Kathleen Burns Director
Ray Shipley Ash
Ray is an Ōtautahi-based writer and performer, best known as the host and organiser of Late Night Poetry Hour - a celebration of poetry, feelings, and staying up past bedtime, which has run monthly at Little Andromeda Theatre since 2020. Ray has won the Christchurch Poetry Slam five times, and their debut poetry chapbook, published by Ngā Pukapuka Pekapeka, is due to be released in November 2025.
They have performed three solo comedy shows at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, including All This Crying Is Making Me Hungry, which was nominated for the Billy T Award in 2019. Wolf Play is Ray’s Court Theatre debut.
Emma (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a Pōneke based actor, excited to perform in her fourth Court Theatre show. She made her debut with her performance of Anna in The Girl on the Train in 2022, played Medium Alison in Fun Home in 2024, and Olivia in Twelfth Night earlier this year. Her other theatre acting credits include Cringeworthy: Boppin in the 50’s and Swinging in the 60’s (Centrepoint Theatre), Mannbannd (Centrepoint Theatre), Pinocchio: The Pantomime (Circa Theatre), Land of the Long Long Drive (Circa Theatre), Sing to Me, and Destination Mars (Te Papa).
Emma also enjoys working as a director, sound designer, and emcee.
Nic Kyle Ryan
Emma Katene Robin
Nic has spent 18 years acting across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Germany, Dubai and the UK –with stints in the West End, a tour with Elaine Paige, and immersive hits Star Wars and Back to the Future with Secret Cinema London as well as a guest role on Shortland Street
Theatre credits include Kinky Boots (NZ Premiere), The Music Man, Sweeney Todd, The Producers, Cabaret, Jesus Christ Superstar, Ladies Night, and Shrek The Musical. A Broadway World UK Best Actor nominee and Variety Club’s 2023 Top Male Artist, Nic is represented by Karen Kay Management & is a proud member of Equity New Zealand.
Andrew Todd Peter
Andrew is a multidisciplinary creative professional from Ōtautahi. Since joining The Court Jesters in 2006, his theatre career has encompassed writing, directing, acting, musical composition, and design, across more than 70 productions.
Court Theatre highlights include creating AV animation for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Hedwig and the Angry Inch; adapting H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine; and performing in The Wind in the Willows and Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. His play The Consummate Professional, cowritten with partner Cathasaigh Ó Fiannachta, won the 2025 McNaughton South Island Play Award. Outside theatre, Andrew works as a screenwriter, filmmaker, comedian, and consultant, and serves on the board of the New Zealand Writers Guild.
Reylene Rose is an Ōtautahi-based actor and improviser, as well as a graduate of the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art (NASDA). Her Court Theatre credits include The Littlest Ninja, Thumbelina, The End of the Golden Weather, Scared Scriptless and Disney’s Frozen JR. (as choreographer). Her other theatre highlights include Me and My Nana (Cubbin Theatre Collective), Around The World in 80 Days (Anthony Harper Summer Show), and Dungeons and Comedians (Little Andromeda Theatre). Reylene’s latest project was Blood Brothers (Showbiz) where she served as choreographer.
Reylene is a member of The Court Jesters, Equity New Zealand, and is an in-house producer with Asian Waves Productions. She is the singer of the track “Backspace… Delete” from Isolation Mixtape Volume 2 (Blackboard Theatre Collective) available on Spotify.
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Hansol Jung Playwright
Productions: Wolf Play (Artists Rep, Soho Rep), Wild Goose Dreams (Public Theater, La Jolla Playhouse), Cardboard Piano (Humana Festival), Among the Dead (Ma-Yi) and No More Sad Things (Sideshow, Boise Contemporary). Commissions: Public Theater (NY), Kennedy Center, Playwrights Horizons, La Jolla Playhouse. Residencies/Fellowships: Hodder, Royal Court, NYTW, Berkeley Repertory, MacDowell, Hedgebrook, Sundance Theatre Lab and Page 73. Awards: Steinberg Award, Whiting Award, DGF Award, Helen Merrill Award. TV: Tales of the City (Netflix), Pachinko (Apple+). Hansol is a proud member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, NYTW’s Usual Suspects, and The Kilroys. MFA: Yale School of Drama.
Kathleen Burns’ director credits include Fun Home, Flagons and Foxtrots, Cinderella, The Littlest Ninja (The Court Theatre), The Wedding Singer, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (NASDA), and the play reading for the winner of the 2025 McNaughton South Island Play Award, The Consummate Professional.
This play marks the first she has directed in The Court Theatre’s beautiful new building and she is so excited to share this work with you.
Hannah McDougall Set & Props Designer
Kathleen Burns Director
Hannah is a graduate of Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School (Bachelor of Design) and College of Creative Arts – Massey University (Master in Fine Arts – Performance (Honours)). Her previous Court Theatre design credits include Disney’s Frozen JR., Te Kuia me te Pungawerewere, The Sweet Science of Bruising, Christmas Carnage, Apprentice Santa, and Fun Home. She also frequents the stage as a Court Jester. Hannah has presented theatre and performance art work across New Zealand as a part of her own independent art practice throughout the last 10 years – showing at gallery, corporate, festival and public spaces, such as The Engine Room Gallery, OHO! Festival CHCH, National Library New ZealandTe Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, (Te Papa).
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Daniella Salazar Costume Designer
Daniella joined The Court Theatre’s Costume Department in March 2021 as Costume Technician and became Costume Manager later that year. Daniella’s Court Theatre design credits include The Girl on the Train (2022), Appropriate (2023), Dance Nation (2023), and Strictly Ballroom the Musical (co-design, 2024).
Other theatre credits include production design assistant for The Effect (Auckland Theatre Company, 2024), costume design for Romeo & Juliet (Auckland Theatre Company, 2025), and costume construction for SUARA/ ORA RUA (Singapore Arts Festival 2024).
Giles is a graduate of Hagley Theatre Company (Diploma in Performing Arts), where he concentrated on technical production, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Canterbury. Currently Head Technician at The Court Theatre, Giles has worked on more than 50 Court Theatre productions including Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, Mr and Mrs Macbeth of Heathcote Valley Road, A Doll’s House, The End of the Golden Weather, Black Faggot, Twelfth Night, and The King’s Speech. Giles was one of 2023’s The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Out of the Limelight Awards recipients, recognising dedicated theatre practitioners in Aotearoa.
Dan Bain Sound Designer
Giles Tanner Lighting Designer
Dan Bain is ‘one of New Zealand’s most experienced theatre practitioners’ (RNZ) and is a multi-award-winning playwright, director, and standup comedian.
His audio design and composition credits include The Odyssey and Around the World in 80 Days for Anthony Harper Summer Theatre, Boudica and Jekyll and Hyde for The Court Youth Company, and Coffin Ship for Little Andromeda. You can also hear his original compositions and sound designs in his podcasts Dan Bain’s Sleepy Time Mumbles, and Angry Ladies.
He was the Artistic Director of The Court Jesters from 20142020, the Associate Director of The Court Theatre from 2017-2020, and is currently the Artistic and Programming Director of Little Andromeda Fringe Theatre.
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For Wolf Play, my set design embraces a minimalistic yet deeply unsettling aesthetic, composed of uncanny domestic spaces that evoke both familiarity and distortion. Inspired by the surrealist art movement, the design seeks to destabilise the viewer’s sense of reality—mirroring the emotional and psychological dislocation central to the play. The set fragments are symbols of traditional notions of home, offering disjointed elements of domestic architecture—doors that lead nowhere, tilted walls, incomplete rooms—that suggest a world slightly off its axis. This architectural unease supports the play’s exploration of fractured identities, fluid relationships, and the primal instinct for belonging.
The minimalism in the design was intentional, leaving space for the actors’ physicality and the emotional rawness of the narrative to take centre stage. I aimed to strike a balance between theatrical abstraction and moments of grounded naturalism. Certain scenes invite a more realistic tone, and the modularity of the set allows for a seamless shift between these modes. Lighting and shadows play a crucial role in deepening the surrealist tone,
distorting everyday objects and subtly emphasising the tension beneath the surface.
Ultimately, the set functions as both a psychological landscape and a physical space—unsettling, ambiguous, and always shifting. By creating a home that feels slightly “off,” I hoped to visually echo the play’s themes of displacement, identity, and the search for family, grounding them in an environment that is at once theatrical and profoundly human.
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