Māori theatre – te whare tapere hōu

Origins of Māori theatre

Te whare tapere

Kia kawea tātou e te rēhia

He whakataukī tēnei nō te ao kōhatu e whakaatu ana nō mua noa atu te whakangahau i te taenga mai o te Pākehā. Ka mutu ko te whare tapere te ingoa o te wāhi ka whakaritea ngā kōrero pūrākau, ngā kanikani, ngā waiata me ngā hākinakina. I ētahi wā ka pā tēnei ingoa ki tētahi whare motuhake, i ētahi kei waho noa iho, kei te take o tētahi rākau taumatua rānei. Ko te whare mātoro tētahi momo whare tapere whakangahau i te hunga tamariki. Ko te whare tapere i kawea e tētahi tira whakangahau ka kīia he whare karioi.

Ōrotokare Trust

I te mutunga atu o te rautau 1800 ka popo haere ngā poupou o te whare tapere tūturu me ōna tikanga  anō hoki. I te tau 2008 ka hanga a Te Ahukaramū Royal i te kaitiakitanga o Ōrotokare Trust hei rangahau i ngā tikanga e pā ana ki te whare tapere. I te tau 2010 ka tū te whare tapere tuatahi o Ōrotokare ki te marae o Waimangō ki Hauraki. He taonga puoro Māori, he karetao, he hangarau hou ētahi o ngā taputapu mahi.

Ngā āhuatanga Māori i ngā whare tapere Pākehā

Ka rāwekeweke ngā whakaari tōmua o Aotearoa i ngā kaupapa Māori (pērā i te haka) i roto i a The land of the moa me Tapu (1903). He poto noa iho te wā ki ngā Māori i ētahi o ngā whakaari, engari kaore rātou i whakamōhiotia mō ngā rārangi kōrero, mō ngā nekeneke o runga atamira rānei. I tū ngā kaiwhakaari Māori ki ngā kiriata tōmua pērā i a Hinemoa (1914) engari kāore i whakawhiti kōrero ki ngā Māori mō ngā kai o roto. Heoi, ka ngana tonu ētahi kiriata ki te whakauru i te tirohanga Māori, pērā i a Rewi’s last stand (1940).

Ka hangā ngā pēne Māori hei whakaari i ngā waiata ā-ringa, ngā haka me ētahi atu tūāhua o te ahurea Māori. I te tau 1941 ka whakaputa te Rōpū Puoro Māori i te whakaari o Hinemoa.

The pohutukawa tree

I te tau 1957 ka whakaputa a Bruce Mason i te whakaari o The pohutukawa tree. Ko tēnei te whakaari tuatahi kia aro ki ngā take ā-iwi ki Aotearoa. Heoi he uaua ki te ringa tohu, ki a Richard Campion te kimi Māori mō ngā tūnga matua. Ka kōwhiria ko Hira Tauwhare, he mema nō te tira whakangahau i te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao. He whai mana tōna tū i te tūnga matua mō Aroha Mataira. Nāwai ka tōwaitia te whakaari ki runga i te whakaata i Peretānia. Noho tonu atu a Tauwhare ki reira ki ngā whakaari, ngā whakaata me ngā irirangi i raro i te ingoa o Hira Talfrey. I mahi tahi ia me ngā kaiwhakaari rongonui pērā i a Sean Connery rātou ko Anthony Quayle, ko Hayley Mills.

Maori Theatre Trust

I te tau 1965 ka mahi te Kamupene Ōpera o Aotearoa i a Porgy and Bess, te ōpera i titoa e George Gershwin mō te noho a ngā iwi mangumangu o Amerika. Ko Īnia Te Wiata te kaiwhakaari matua, ā, 30 ngā Māori i roto i te koaea. He tokomaha rātou i puea ake hei toa i roto i te whare tapere, pērā i a Don Selwyn rātou ko George Hēnare, ko Apirana Taylor. Nō konei ka hangaia te Maori Theatre Trust. I te tau 1967 ka mahi te kaitiakitanga i te whakaari He manatoa, me te paki pukukata e pā ana ki te noho Pākehā, e kīia ana ko The golden lover. E ai ki tētahi kaiarotake, ‘tā ēnei whakaari e rua he para i te huarahi mō te whare tapere Māori.’²

I te tau 1970 ka āmio haere te kaitiakitanga o te whare tapere Māori i te ao. Ka whai wāhi ētahi o ngā mema ki te tira o Aotearoa i haere ki te Expo 70 i Osaka ki Hapani. Kātahi rātou ka haere ki Hanekari me Rūhia. I muri mai he mea whakakore te haere ki Amerika nā te kore aro a te marea, me ngā tāmitanga pūtea. Nā whai anō ka wehewehe te rōpū.

Mr Kingi Hori

Tētahi mema o te Theatre Trust ko George Hēnare, ā koia te kaitapere matua i a ia e whakaahua ana i a Hongi Hika, i te whakaari puoro o Mr King Hongi, i whakaaturia i te tau 1973 i te Auckland Mercury Theatre. 

Footnotes

• Thomas Grace, A pioneer missionary among the Maoris, 1850–1879: being letters and journals of Thomas Samuel Grace. Te Papaioea: G. H. Bennett, 1928 (whakakawenata 1872), pp. 177–178. Back
• A. Armstrong, ‘Māori Theatre Trust’, Te Ao Hou 59 (Hune 1967), p. 51, http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/issue/Mao59TeA/c22.html (pātengi raraunga 19 Tīhema 2013). Back

First Māori theatre companies, 1970–1990

Ngā kaitākaro o Te Ika-a-Māui

Nā ngā mautohe a te iwi Māori i te tekau tau 1970 ka oreore ngā mahi o te whare tapere Māori. Ko te whare tapere tuatahi kia whakatūria e te Māori ko Te Ika a Maui Players, i hangaia i te tau 1976. I te tīmatanga i hangaia te whare tapere nei hei whakaari i tā Rowley Habib whakaari, The death of the land. E toru ngā tau e tīpā haere ana tēnei whakaari i te motu. Nō te tau 1978 ka whakaaturia i runga whakaata. Nāwai rā ka rongonui anō ngā kaiwhakaū e rua o Te Ika a Māui Jim Moriarty rāua ko Brian Potiki.

Maranga Mai

Nā Pōtiki i āwhina te whakatūnga o te whare tapere o Maranga Mai. I tīkina atu e rātou ngā mautohe Māori hei kaupapa mō ngā whakaari. I te tau 1979 ka haere te tira ki ngā kura, ki ngā marae, tae rawa atu ki te Whare Mīere. E ai ki ētahi o te hunga tōrangapū, e whakatutū puehu ana rātou i waenga i ngā iwi. Ko ētahi o te hunga mātaki i a Maranga Mai ka whai anō i te whare tapere, pērā i te kaiwhakaari o Hāmoa a Eteuati Ete.

Ngā pia Māori o te whare tapere

I te tau 1972 ka tū ko Rāwiri Paratene hei pia Māori tuatahi kia whakapōtaengia ki te QE II Arts Council Drama School (nāwai ko te NZ Drama School me Toi Whakaari). Nāwai koia te marutuna a te mahi a te Māori i whai i ōna tapuwae ki te whare tapere. I te tau 1975 ka whakapōtaengia a Rangimoana Taylor, ā, nō muri mai ka whakatūria e ia a Te Ohu Whakaari.

Nāwai ka whakaputa a Te Ohu Whakaari i ngā whakaari nā tōna teina nā Apirana Taylor (Kohanga, Te whanau a Tuanui Jones), nā tōna tuahine hoki a Riwia Brown (Roimata, Te hokinga, Nga wahine)i tuhi. 17 tau noa iho te pakeke o Briar Grace-Smith (tētahi o ngā mema tūturu) i te whakatūnga o Te Ohu Whakaari. Nāwai ka rongonui ia mō te tito tuhinga whakaari.

Taki Rua

I whakatuwheratia te whare tapere o Depot Theatre i te tau 1983 hei whakaputa i ngā mahi whakaari o Aotearoa. E ai ki tētahi o ngā mema tūturu a Hone Kouka, e tuwhera ana ngā ringa ki ngā kaiwhakaari Māori’.² Nāwai ka tapaina houtia te whare tapere ko Taki Rua. He nui ngā tuhinga whakaari rongonui kua puta i te hunga Māori i tēnei whare whakaari, pērā i a Rowley Habib. I whakaaturia tuatahitia a Nga morehu me Tupuna ki The Depot i te tau 1987, ā, i te tau tonu i muri mai, ka whakaaringia a Fragments of a childhood.

Don Selwyn

I te tau 1984 ka hanga rāua ko Ruth Kapua i a Tamaki Creative Maori Arts i tētahi kaupapa whakangungu. Mai i te tekau tau 1960 a Don Selwyn e whakapau kaha ana ki te whare tapere. I te tau 1985 ka tohutohu a Selwyn i āna tauira i roto i te whakaaritanga tuatahi o te whakaari a Hone Tūwhare i a In the wilderness without a hat. I te tau 1990 ka hautū rāua ko Kapua i Te tangata whai rawa o Weneti, he whakamāoritanga o te whakaari a Rūrūtao, a The merchant of Venice. Nā te tautōhito nā Pei Te Hurinui Jones ngā kōrero i whakamāori i te tau 1945 , engari nō te tau 2001 rā anō ka mahia hei kiriata.

Te Rākau Hua O Te Wao Tapu

I te tau 1990 ka whakaputa Te Rākau Hua O Te Wao Tapu, arā, te kamupene hou a Jim Moriarty, i a Brokenarse (nā Bruce Stewart)me Nga puke (nā John Broughton ki Te Depot). Nāwai ka mahi ngātahi te kamupene ki ngā rangatahi taka ki te hē. I te tau 2000 ka tohua a Moriarty ki te Tohu o Aotearoa.

He Ara Hou

Ko Roma Potiki tētahi o ngā mema o mua o Maranga Mai. I te tau 1990 ka hangaia e ia te whare tapere o He Ara Hou. Nā tēnei rōpū i waihanga te whakaari o Whatungarongaro. He marutuna tēnei whakaari ki a Hone Kouka. ‘Kātahi anō au ka kite au i te whare tapere Māori me te whare tapere Pākehā e mahi tahi ana.’³

Footnotes

• Michael Neill, ‘Maranga Mai: theatre as war party’, NZ Listener, 31 Mei 1980, p. 23. Back
• Hone Kouka, ‘The state of contemporary Māori theatre.’ In Performing Aotearoa: New Zealand theatre and drama in an age of transition, edited by Marc Maufort and David O’Donnell. Bruxelles; New York: P.I.E. Peter Lang, 2007, p. 239. Back
• ‘The state of contemporary Māori theatre,’ p. 240. Back

Consolidating Māori theatre, 1990s onwards

Te whakaari ki te ao

Nō te tekau tau 1990, e whakaputa ana ngā Māori i ngā mahinga rongonui o Aotearoa.

I te tau 1991 ka whakaahuatia e Jim Moriarty te whakaari kakā a John Broughton, a Michael James Manaia, i tōna whakaaringa tuatahi i te Ahurei o Edinburgh. I taua tau anō ka whakawhanaketia te whakaari a Hone Kouka, a Nga tangata toa, he kōrero i kapohia mai i te whakaari a Ibsen i The Vikings at Helgeland. Ko tōna hoa mahi ko te tangata o Nōwei ko Halldis Hoaas. Ko te tuawahine a Rongomai ko te kaiwhakaari ko Nancy Brunning. I whakaaritia a Nga tangata toa e te rōpū a Rangimoana Taylor, e  Kilimogo Productions i te tau 1997, me te rōpū o Taki Rua Productions i te tau 2006.

Te whare tapere i te marae

I te tekau tau 1990 ka whakawhanakehia te whare tapere i te marae. He rite tonu ka karangatia te minenga ki roto i te whare tapere, kātahi ka tuku waiata ngā kaiwaiata hei kīnaki i ngā nekeneke a ngā kaiwhakaari. Ānō nei he whare tapere te marae. Akuanei ka tuku haka te minenga (mēnā he Māori te nuinga). E ai ki a Hone Kouka, mēnā ka whai kaumātua te whakaari, ko tōna ingoa ka noho ki runga ake o te rārangi tuahangata.

Te whare tapere o te reo Māori

I te tau 1995 ka whakaputaina e Taki Rua āna whakaari reo Māori. I te tau 1996 ka whakatūria a Waitapu (te whakaari a Briar Gace-Smith). I mua atu kua huri haere tēnei whakaari ki Kānata i te taha o Te Ara Hou. Ko te whakaari a Grace-Smith i muri mai ko Purapurawhetū (i kōmihanatia e Taki Rua), ā, riro tonu atu te tohu mō te whakaari hou o ngā tohu Chapman Tripp i taua whakaari i te tau 1997. I taua tau ka hokona te whare o Taki Rua, kia pai ai te māhorahora o ngā parirau.

Tawata

I tīmata a Hone Kouka ki te whare tapere o The Depot (nāwai ka mōhiotia ko Taki Rua). Ka  waihanga ia i te kamupene motuhake o Tawata i te taha o Miria George. Mai i te tau 2010, tū ai te Ahurei Matariki a Tawata, ia tau, ia tau. I te tau 2009 ka tāpaea a Kouka ki te Tohu mō Aotearoa mō āna whakapau kaha ki te whare tapere Māori.

Ngā whare tapere hou

I roto i te rautau 2000, kua mātirotiro te whare tapere Māori ki ngā momo kaupapa whānui i waho atu i te horopaki o te marae. Ko Taika Waititi rāua ko Jemaine Clement (he kaiwhakaari, he ringa tohu hoki rāua) i whakaputa te paki pukukata o The untold stories of Maui. Nā Tawata Productions i whakaatu i te pakimaero e kīia ana ko and what remains ki Cambridge ki Ingarangi i te tau 2006. Ko ngā kaituhi whakaari ko Albert Beltz (Awhi tapu, Yours truly, Te karakia) rāua ko Whiti Hereaka (Fallow, Te kaupoi me Raw men) kua whakawhānui i ā rāua mahi ki waho atu i te horopaki Māori.

Te Ahurei Kaituhi Whakaari Māori

I te ahurei ā-tau tuatahi o Taonga Whakaari ka kitea e Belz, e Hereaka me Briar Grace-Smith ngā kaitapere Māori toa e whakaari ana i ā rātou whakaari i tuhi ai. I roto i taua taiopenga hoki ko te 24-Hour Deadline Theatre Challenge, arā, kia tito ngā kaituhi whakaari e rima i tētahi whakaari (15 meneti te roa) ka mahia i te pō i muri mai.

Atamira

I te Paengawhāwhā i te tau 2012 ka whakaputaina a Atamira ki runga whakaata. Tokoono ngā kaituhi whakaari Māori i ngā whakaari e ono nei. He mahinga ngātahi tēnei nā Taki Rua hei whakawhānui atu i tana kaupapa ki te ao kiriata, whakaata hoki.

Ko Rūrūtao

I taua marama anō, ka whakakitea te whakaari (i whakamāoritia e Te Haumihiata Mason) o Troilus and Cressida ki te whare tapere o Globe Theatre ki Rānana. Ko tēnei te whakaari wāhi i ngā whakaari mō te taiopenga, ā, hui katoa, e 37 ngā whakaari a Rūrūtao i whakakitea. Ko te kamupene a Rāwiri Paratene ko Ngākau Toa te kaihautū, ā, kei a Paratene te tūnga o Pandarus. E ai ki tētahi kaikōrero i Ingarangi, ‘ahakoa te rereke o ngā reo, i tauwhiti tonu mai te māramatanga ki ngā pūtake, he rite tonu ahakoa ki hea i te ao, i roto i tēnei whakaari’.¹

Footnotes

• Telegraph, 24 April 2012, (pātengi raraunga 6 Hānuere 2014). Back