''Foreskin's Lament'' is a landmark play in the history of New Zealand theatre. It was the breakthrough play for its writer,

Greg McGee Greg McGee is a New Zealand writer and playwright, who also writes crime fiction under the pseudonym Alix Bosco. Biography McGee was born in 1950 in the South Island town of Oamaru. In his early 20s McGee played rugby as a Junior All Black and b ...

, and was initially workshopped at the New Zealand Playwrights' Conference in Wellington in 1980, and has since become a staple of New Zealand theatre. Being produced as it was immediately before and during the social unrest of the

1981 Springbok Tour The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in Republic of South Africa, South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extende ...

of New Zealand, it hit a nerve with the public and was named Best New Zealand Play of 1981. The play is a drama set in a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

changing room after a practice, and at an after-match party. The captain is kicked in the head off-stage at the beginning of the first act, and again during the game between acts, by his own teammate and the play's antagonist, ''Clean''. He dies in hospital during the second act. The theme is the conflict between fair play and winning at all costs, and the non-conformist lead character Foreskin's struggle to reconcile his university liberal values with those of his rugby-playing conservative mates. The play ends with Foreskin directly addressing the audience in a monologue - or rather interrogation - filled with rugby allusions, questioning their own values, ending with the repeated question, "Whaddarya?" (usually used in New Zealand to question someone's masculinity). Early performances left audiences in stunned silence. In some productions Foreskin undresses during the lament and finishes nude. A significant production of the play was put on by th
Downstage Theatre Company
of Wellington in 1991. Their 1985 season had also included a memorable production of ''Foreskin's Lament'', with some of the original cast reprising their roles in 1995. In New Zealand a rugby union player is an everyman, and the game and play present a model of society. Set in 1976, it looks forward to the 1981 Springbok Tour. Some have suggested that the ironically named character "Clean" is based on the New Zealand Prime Minister,

Rob Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

. The script was updated after the 1981 tour and was later heavily revised by the author for filming as ''Skin and Bones''.

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External links

New Zealand On AirGreg McGeeReview of 1999 production
1981 plays New Zealand plays Rugby union in New Zealand Rugby union and apartheid Rugby union controversies Plays about sport {{NewZealand-stub