A Pattern of Shades

by Wendy Dodds

A Pattern of Shades is funny, thoughtful and moving. It’s an authentic, biting, yet sympathetic portrait of rugged, communal life on Great Barrier Island in the 80s.

It’s 1984, Robert Muldoon calls a snap election, and on a remote gulf island, a group of young mums decide to hold an election night ball with a special floorshow. Mouse, an introverted single mum, living in a boatshed and tormented by her inner dragons, has created the floorshow song. For the first time she feels included, invested in a community event. But as the big night looms, interpersonal conflicts, infidelities, and revealed secrets threaten to break apart the group. Will Mouse be able to face down her demons, pull her friends together and finally become the person she wants to be?