When We Go to War - First Episode (excerpt)

This miniseries is built around the fortunes of the fictional Smith family during World War l. Directed by Peter Burger (Until Proven Innocent), the first episode is framed around a letter home by nurse Bea Smith (played by Westside's Esther Stephens). This 10 minute opening excerpt jumps from a war hospital in Egypt, back to trysts on the home front: an illicit romance at medical school, high times on Auckland's Grey Street, and a mysterious arrival at the family store. Funded by NZ On Air’s Platinum Fund, When We Go to War debuted on Anzac weekend in 2015. 

Believe me Cissy when I say it's true that war changes everything. What matters to me now is so very different to what I passionately believed just a few months ago.

– Bea (Ester Stephens) in a letter to her sister Cissy

Key Cast & Crew

Alex Tarrant

As: Manaaki Kōkiri

Esther Stephens

As: Bea Smith

Peter Burger

Director

Robin Scholes

Producer

Teresa Woodham

As: Sister Fletcher

Dena Kennedy

As: Jenny