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Story: Plays and playwrights

The axe, 1948

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<em>The axe</em>, 1948

Poet Allen Curnow's 1948 verse play The axeused the conventions of Greek dramato tell a story from 19th-century Polynesia. This photo shows its first production, by the Canterbury University College Drama Society. John Pocock, later a distinguished historian, both directed and appeared in this production. 

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Elizabeth Jaumaud Curnow Collection

Reference: 86-101-14-016

by Selwyn Davies

Courtesy of Wystan Curnow

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Murray Edmond, Plays and playwrights – Plays of the mid- and later 20th century, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/43947/the-axe-1948 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Murray Edmond, published 16 January 2014.