The Story Of Funk
The life & times of P. Funk Chainsaw

• European Premiere, Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Festival 2003
• Presented by Guy Masterson & Cariad Ltd (NZ)
• Written and performed by Dai Henwood
• Directed by Caroline Bell-Booth

The ups (and downs) of the smallest and greatest extreme wrestler - P Funk Chainsaw.

A 50-minute documentary style about X-treme Wrestling's Champion of the World, P-Funk Chainsaw. Standing 5'4" (and a half) P-Funk is a small man with big dreams. His early days were influenced by his spiritual guide and uncle the Rev. D Money Jr - a Black-American preacher stuck in a white man's body - who after sipping to much of the communion wine would preach that Jesus himself was a wrestler.
Dai Henwood is one of New Zealand's hottest new properties as the youngest winner of TV2's Billy T Comedy Award last year. He has played to sell out crowds all over New Zealand and recently completed his first tour on the Australian Comedy Circuit. His unique brand of character-based comedy will be a gale of fresh air!

Reviews:

"Dai Henwood is a born performer and certainly one of the most original and promising young comedians working in comedy at the moment. Expect great things!" (NZ Capital Times)

"What appeals to me in Henwood's comedy is the way he can start on a theme and then take one on a flight of fancy that soars light years from his starting point. One can see easily why The Story of Funk won a TV2 Billy T Award 2002 - it's original. And it's funny." (NZ Dominion Post)

"We've seen their ilk on trash telly, but they've never been quite this funny. In less capable hands, a white boy playing black and dumb could be trouble but, as a performer, Henwood doesn't have a malicious bone in his body, has energy to burn and an endearing presence anyone would forgive. Highly recommended." (NZ Sunday Star Times)

"One of the most original and promising young comedians." (Capital Times)

Biographies:

Dai Henwood (Comedian) Dai is 24 years old and was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He majored in Drama at Victoria University in Wellington. Since that time he has developed an explosive career as a comedian working full time in Auckland. In a relatively short space of time he has featured as a regular at the Classic Comedy Bar and has starred on Pulp Comedy for the past three years. In 1999 he won Best New Face on the same program and in 2003 has his own half-hour special. This year he wrote The Story of Funk for the TV2 Billy T Awards and was the youngest person ever to win the coveted prize. Dai has been able to support himself for the most part because of his ability to act and has been successful in obtaining work over and above his comedy performance in TV Shows such as Xena, Revelations and The Tribe. This is his first trip to Edinburgh.

Caroline Bell-Booth (Director) Caroline holds a BA in theatre & Film (Victoria University) and a BPSA in writing and directing (UNITEC). Last year she directed French Toast, the winner of the Best Theatre Award at 2002 Wellington Fringe Festival; The Story of Funk, (winner at the 2002 Billy T Comedy Award) and a stage adaptation of Tennessee Williams' film Babydoll. This year Caroline is a director in training at the Auckland Theatre Company, and has recently finished working as the assistant director on The Graduate written by Terry Johnson.

Renee Te Pairi (Set Designer) Renee graduated from UNITEC with a Diploma in Performance Technology in 2000 and has since been working on numerous theatre and screen productions in design and support roles. Renee worked on two successful shows at the 2002 Wellington Fringe Festival: French Toast, winner of the Best Theatre Award and Indiscretions, nominated for Best Design. She worked in the art department at Canterbury Opera and designed Nova, a short film featured in Auckland's International Film Festival. Renee currently works at Third Stage in Auckland.