Award-winning Nelson playwright Penny Taylor has turned the story of a real-life Nelson murder mystery into a stage show which will be performed this week.
A cast of 16 along with a band of four musicians are coming together to tell the tale of the 1874 death of Charlotte Boseley at a hotel in Wakapuaka.
The play, Malediction – The Curse of the Bay View Hotel is written by Penny and will be performed by the Histrionics.
Charlotte, the Landlady of the Bay View Hotel was found dead in the hotel on 18 July. The play details her death, the surrounding trial, and the subsequent future of the tenants of the boozy establishment.
It is thought The Bay View Hotel was located on the corner of Malvern Avenue.
Penny, a member of the award-winning Histironics group, has been working on the piece for 18 months.
She says she spends a lot of time reading and researching the facts, putting them in context and making sure they are representative of the era.
"I have to understand what has been said and use the language of the time," she says of reading the inquest and trial notes.
"You can't slip in coloquialisms."
Malediction - The Curse of the Bay View Hotel will be performed by Histrionics this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the All Saints Church in Nelson from 7.30pm. Tickets, available at eventfinda.co.nz
