GREED MASQUERADING AS AROHA: HONE KOUKA TO PREMIERE NEW WORK
Tawata Productions present
Ngā Rorirori
Written and Directed by Hone Kouka
Unapologetically indigenous and indescribably farcical, Tawata Productions’ new work Ngā Rorirori is the unmissable return to the theatre Te Whanganui-a-Tara has been waiting for. Part theatre, part dance, part cinema, this ground-breaking work from acclaimed Māori playwright and director Hone Kouka premieres 18 - 25 June at Circa Theatre in Wellington, with tickets now on sale at Circa.co.nz.
A rural marae has hit the jackpot – if they pass one final hurdle, that is.
The haukāinga must convince the Government’s Chief Executive of the Department of ‘Whenua, Whakapapa and Whatever’ that they are the true descendants of their eponymous ancestor!
If they are successful at doing so, the vast coastline in their rohe reverts to their ownership, garnering millions of dollars… in back rent alone.
Ngā Rorirori (The Idiots in Te Reo Pākehā) is a comical foray into one whānau’s relationship with their whenua, and their quest to turn their coastline into a cash cow. In question here are Pillow and Manuela Rorirori - a brother and sister who also happen to be the only two members of their hapū. He’s a convicted fraudster who’s returned to his rohe after a series of failed business ventures, she’s the well-intentioned teina who is trying desperately to hold her whānau together as their ancestral claims are put under the microscope. Ngā Rorirori delves into the duo’s ethically dubious attempts to assert their ancestral rights and is quite unlike anything you’ve seen on stage before.
This new work from Tawata Productions is written and directed by co-founder Hone Kouka MNZM (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu) - one of Aotearoa’s leading Māori writers, producers and directors. Kouka made history at 19 when he became the youngest-ever winner of the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award and hasn’t stopped contributing to theatre in Aotearoa since. His works have been produced in such far-flung locales as South Africa, Britain, Hawai’i, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Caledonia, as well as throughout Aotearoa. In 2004, Hone co-founded the production company, Tawata Productions, focusing on the development and presentation of new theatre by Māori and Pasifika artists. Kouka’s contribution to the Māori Performing Arts was recognised in 2009 when he became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Contemporary Māori Theatre.
Reflecting on the upcoming premiere of his new work, Kouka comments that,
“It’s not often I get to be creative - and so when I put my hand to it - I want to challenge myself as an artist. Ngā Rorirori is a work that is a culmination of three art forms that intrigue me - dance, farce and theatre. I’m excited to vibe out and create with young artists on the rehearsal room floor. I want to make something that I’ve never seen before in Aotearoa.”
Joining Kouka in the rehearsal room to bring this work to life is a multi-talented cast, including Regan Taylor, (Mahana, Home By Christmas, Ahikaroa) who has previously featured in the Auckland Arts Festival and NZ Festival seasons of Kouka's bruising drama Bless The Child and is known for his stage and screen performances with The Māori Sidesteps. It takes two casts to tell the story of Ngā Rorirori, with the audio performance featuring Regan alongside Matariki Whatarau (Modern Māori Quartet), Shania Bailey-Edmonds (Neke, Bless The Child) and newcomers Rongopai Tickell (Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School), Nomuna Amarbat (Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School) and Hahna Nicholls (New Zealand School of Dance).
Ngā Rorirori is everything that Wellington theatre lovers have been waiting for, playing for a strictly limited season from June 18 - 25.