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Foreskin's Lament
''Foreskin's Lament'' is a landmark play in the history of New Zealand theatre. It was the breakthrough play for its writer, Greg McGee, 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 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 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 rugb ...
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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 became an All Black trialist. He graduated from the University of Otago with a law degree in 1972. In 1980 his first play, ''Foreskin's Lament'', a drama set in Rugby football, rugby changing rooms and at the after-match party, became an immediate success. The play shows the player nicknamed "Foreskin" and his attempt to fit in with university liberals and with rugby-playing conservatives. In New Zealand a rugby player is an everyman, and the game and play present a model of society in the end of the 1970s on the eve of the 1981 Springbok Tour. The play has a stylistically unusual ending, with the main character directly addressing the audience with a very long speech — or rather interrogation — questioning their own values: "Whaddarya ...
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1981 Springbok Tour
The 1981 South African rugby tour (known in New Zealand as the Springbok Tour, and in South Africa as the Rebel Tour) polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, where the South African rugby team continued their tour after departing New Zealand. Apartheid had made South Africa an international pariah, and other countries were strongly discouraged from having sporting contacts with it. Rugby union was (and is) an extremely popular sport in New Zealand, and the South African team known as the Springboks were considered to be New Zealand's most formidable opponents. Therefore, there was a major split in opinion in New Zealand as to whether politics should influence sport in this way and whether the Springboks should be allowed to tour. Despite the controversy, the New Zealand Rugby Union decided to proceed with the tour. The government of Prime Minister Robert Muldoon was called on to ban it, but dec ...
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Rugby Union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an Rugby ball, oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped Goal (sports)#Structure, goalposts at both ends. Rugby union is a popular sport around the world, played by people of all genders, ages and sizes. In 2014, there were more than 6 million people playing worldwide, of whom 2.36 million were registered players. World Rugby, previously called the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), has been the governing body for rugby union since 1886, and currently has 101 countries as full members and 18 associate ...
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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 the army in the Second World War, Muldoon completed his training as an accountant and returned to New Zealand as its first fully qualified cost accountant. He was first elected to the House of Representatives at the 1960 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamaki, representing the National Party. In this time of political stability, Muldoon served successively as Minister of Tourism (1967), Minister of Finance (1967–1972), and Deputy Prime Minister (1972). Over this time he built up an informal but solid backing amongst National's mostly rural right faction, which he labelled "Rob's Mob"—possibly in imitation of gangs such as the Mongrel Mob. National were then expelled from office in 1972, beginning the tenure ...
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1981 Plays
Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments. * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican. * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis. * January 21 – The first DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. * January 24 – An earthquake of magnitude in Sichuan, China, kills 150 people. Japan suffers a less serious earthquake on the same day. * January 25 – In South Africa the largest part of the town Laingsbur ...
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New Zealand Plays
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 Songs * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1999 *"new", by Loona from '' Yves'', 2017 *"The New", by Interpol from ''Turn On the Bright Lights'', 2002 Acronyms * Net economic welfare, a proposed macroeconomic indicator * Net explosive weight, also known as net explosive quantity * Network of enlightened Women, a conservative university women's organization * Next Entertainment World, a South Korean film distribution company Identification codes * Nepal Bhasa language ISO 639 language code * New Century Financial Corporation (NYSE stock abbreviation) * Northeast Wrestling, a professional wrestling promotion in the northeastern United States Transport * New Orleans Lakefront Airp ...
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Rugby Union In New Zealand
Rugby union is the unofficial national sport of New Zealand. The men's national team, the All Blacks, is currently ranked the third best national rugby team in the world. The sport has been known in New Zealand since 1870. The top domestic competitions are the professional National Provincial Championship and amateur Heartland Championship, and above them Super Rugby, in which New Zealand has five franchises. The country co-hosted and won the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987, and hosted and won the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The men have won three World Cups (1987, 2011, 2015), tied with South Africa, the most of any other country. They are the current World Champions for Women's rugby union and in rugby sevens for men and women. History Before Europeans arrived in New Zealand, the Māori were playing a ball game called ki-o-rahi which greatly resembled Australian Rules Football and rugby football. It has been suggested that this may have influenced New Zealand playing s ...
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Rugby Union And Apartheid
Rugby union and apartheid had a complex and supportive relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era. Halt All Racist Tours was established in New Zealand in 1969 to oppose continued tours to and from South Africa. Though contacts were restricted after the Gleneagles Agreement in 1977, there were controversial tours in 1980 by the British Lions and by France, in 1981 by Ireland, and in 1984 by England. South Africa toured New Zealand in 1981. South Africa were excluded from the first two Rugby World Cups, in 1987 and 1991. Racially selected New Zealand sports teams toured South Africa until the 1970 All Blacks rugby tour allowed Māori to go under the status of 'honorary whites'. No other issue, political or otherwise has divided the rugby community s ...
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Rugby Union Controversies
Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Touch rugby *** Tambo rugby ** Both codes *** Tag rugby * Rugby Fives, a handball game, similar to squash, played in an enclosed court *Underwater rugby, an underwater sport played in a swimming pool and named after rugby football *Rugby ball, a ball for use in rugby football Arts and entertainment * '' Rugby'' (video game), the 2000 installment of Electronic Arts' Rugby video game series * ''Rugby'', second movement of ''Mouvements symphoniques'' by Arthur Honegger Brands and enterprises * Rugby (automobile), made by Durant Motors * Rugby Cement, a former UK PLC, no ...
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