Promising Land
one-act drama
While locked up in Newgate Prison, Edward Gibbon Wakefield develops a radical scheme for utopian colonisation. But his visionary opportunism pits him against the formidable might of the British Colonial Office.
Settings
London, England
Hare Hatch, Berkshire
Lisbon, Portugal
Gravesend, Kent
Approaching Cape Farewell, New Zealand
Time
1830 to 1839
Characters
(ages at their first appearance)
Female
NINA WAKEFIELD, Edward’s daughter, 12
FANNY WAKEFIELD, Edward’s stepmother, 27
LEOCADIA DE OLIVEIRA, Portuguese nursemaid, 15
LAURA WAKEFIELD, Fanny’s daughter, 12
KUIA, senior Māori woman (voiceover)
Male
EDWARD GIBBON WAKEFIELD, 34, social theorist
JAMES STEPHEN, lawyer, 40
JERNINGHAM WAKEFIELD, Edward’s son, 14
DOCTOR FERGUSON, 60s
DANDESON COATES, lay secretary of the Church Missionary Society, 59
NEWSBOY, 12
TE WHĀITI (“NAYTI”), Māori man (Ngāti Toa), 25
LOOKOUT (voiceover)
OFFICER OF THE WATCH, mature man
The play may be performed by 8 actors (3f, 5m)
Doubling
Nina (12), Jerningham (14), Newsboy and Laura may be played by the same young female actor.
Nina (16) and Jerningham (17,18) may be played by the same young female actor.
Doctor Ferguson, Coates and Officer of the Watch may be played by the same mature male actor.
Lookout and Kuia may be prerecorded.
Settings
London, England
Hare Hatch, Berkshire
Lisbon, Portugal
Gravesend, Kent
Approaching Cape Farewell, New Zealand
Time
1830 to 1839
Characters
(ages at their first appearance)
Female
NINA WAKEFIELD, Edward’s daughter, 12
FANNY WAKEFIELD, Edward’s stepmother, 27
LEOCADIA DE OLIVEIRA, Portuguese nursemaid, 15
LAURA WAKEFIELD, Fanny’s daughter, 12
KUIA, senior Māori woman (voiceover)
Male
EDWARD GIBBON WAKEFIELD, 34, social theorist
JAMES STEPHEN, lawyer, 40
JERNINGHAM WAKEFIELD, Edward’s son, 14
DOCTOR FERGUSON, 60s
DANDESON COATES, lay secretary of the Church Missionary Society, 59
NEWSBOY, 12
TE WHĀITI (“NAYTI”), Māori man (Ngāti Toa), 25
LOOKOUT (voiceover)
OFFICER OF THE WATCH, mature man
The play may be performed by 8 actors (3f, 5m)
Doubling
Nina (12), Jerningham (14), Newsboy and Laura may be played by the same young female actor.
Nina (16) and Jerningham (17,18) may be played by the same young female actor.
Doctor Ferguson, Coates and Officer of the Watch may be played by the same mature male actor.
Lookout and Kuia may be prerecorded.
Promising Land was COMMENDED in the 2026 Playwrights Association of New Zealand One-Act Play Competition.
The adjudicator, David O'Donnell, wrote:
The adjudicator, David O'Donnell, wrote:
"This is a well-crafted script underpinned with impressive research into the pre-colonial politics of New Zealand in the 19th century. In focusing on the young Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s vision for the colonisation of New Zealand the playwright gives valuable insights into the cruel and ignorant colonial mentality that led to the project of the New Zealand Company and dispossessed Māori from their lands and sovereignty. At the same time, Edward and the other characters are engaging and not stereotyped. The period dialogue is well written, credible, yet also lively and engaging. There is enough material here to justify a longer play that enables some of the very interesting peripheral characters like Te Whāiti and Leocadia to be developed in more depth. Overall, the playwright has distilled a lot of complex history into a coherent drama with lively and interesting characters that has a lot to say about the European settlement of New Zealand and the mentality that drove it."