The Martians have landed! A faulty map has led their spaceship not to parliament, but to a school production: the Great Aotearoa History Show. Undeterred, they announce their intention to take over New Zealand, which they claim is a tiny country at the end of the world, with no history worth talking about. The kids resolve to prove them wrong, inviting the Martians to stay and watch their show. 
 

First up is a StoryDance (tamariki move freely to the audio): ‘Gondwana and the Land of the Birds.’ The kids twist, turn, shake, flap, hop and more! It is followed by a choreo dance centred on a greedy kererū. Shrek the Sheep makes a badly timed appearance, terrifying the Martians. The Kapa Haka Dance Group peforms a StoryDance re-enacting the early Māori’s sea voyages to Aotearoa and some of their pūrākau/legends (the kids paddle, pull, push and more!) An extinct moa is removed by security guards. Tamariki perform a choreo dance or their own Kapa Haka item.
 

New Zealand’s European explorers introduce themselves, along with the all-important Potato. The Moana Dance Group, dressed as waves, re-enact the waves of European migration, and lead us through the musket wars and the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We are introduced to characters such as Hongi Hika, James Busby, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, William Hobson, Henry Williams and others. The controversy surrounding the treaty is explained using the metaphor of waves in a storm at sea. 
 

After another choreo dance and a comically rushing ‘goldrusher,’ the Muramura Dance Group, dressed as flames, lead us through the fiery New Zealand Wars in two parts, with a choreo dance inbetween. The interactive audio covers the main battles and personalities of the wars sensitively, but without glossing over difficult truths. This section ends on a note of hope, with the children of Parihaka skipping off stage. The Rāpeti Dance Group performs a fun dance with a serious message, highlighting the rabbit plague. 
 

Interspersed with short conversations between the kids and Martians, there are more StoryDances followed by fun choreo dances. In ‘The Making of a Pākehā Colony’, we learn about everything from travel by coach, the first telegraphs and trains on the main trunk line, to rugby, refrigerated meat exports, deforestation and the suffrage movement. The Castaways Dance Group draws attention to NZ’s many shipwrecks. ‘From War Time to Boom Time’ covers historical figures such as Richard Pearse, Ernest Rutherford, Jean Batten and Edmund Hilary, as well as the two world wars and racial segregation within New Zealand. The Hipi Dance Group, dressed as sheep, lighten the mood with dance. The Flower Power Dance Group presents the final StoryDance: ‘From the 60s into the Future’, touching on everything from the Moon landing and the Māori language petition to the Dawn Raids, Whina Cooper’s hīkoi, the Springbok Tour, and into the present. We realise that the future will belong not to us, but to the children. A Māori whakataukī/proverb is recited. The kids persuade the Martians to rethink their plans to take over, and instead to come and stay for a while: “I feel like we could be friends.”
 

The play ends on a note of reconciliation and respect. A challenge to learn from our past is set down, and a final dance (or optional song) expresses hope for the future.