Mark Twain and Me In Maoriland

“Ko au te awa, Ko te awa ko au”
“I am the river, The river is me”
-Whakatauki/ Proverb from iwi of the Whanganui region

Inspired by true events! Mark Twain & Me in Maoriland weaves historical fact with magical realism in an epic, bullet-ridden, tale set amidst the waterways of the Whanganui region 1895; a combustible time of mercenaries, vaudeville and self serving mayoralty.

"I have never been taken on such an amazing journey.  At its lightest moments it was tremendously entertaining and in its serious moments I was literally moved to tears, and stuck to my seat" Audience member, 17 July 2010

Mark Twain’s Australasian lecture tour comes to a halt when the outspoken writer incurs the wrath of the local English establishment due to his shocking pronouncement that a local monument - honouring Kupapa Maori loyal to the English cause - be blown up as it encourages Natives to become traitors to their own race; and that the Rebel Maori, slandered as barbarians and fanatics, were in fact the true patriots. But with Maori on both sides of the battle, historical truth is far from black and white.

Filled with live music, comedy and tragedy, this is another theatrical stick of dynamite from Taki Rua Productions; the award winning producers of Strange Resting Places and Te Karakia. 

Opening night interview with the cast:

What’s it like working with the legend John Bolton (director)?

Aaron Cortesi: It’s fantastic. I think John is a master of what he does – master craftsman, especially with the theatre he understands that language and it’s an incredible thing that someone can come from overseas and tell a story about us and hold the heart of it so that we as performers in it and makers keep connecting all the time. 

Maaka Pohatu: Working with John is fantastic. He’s got this fantastic energy; he’s youthful, challenging and really intuitive. Things change in the moment for him all the time and you just go with it, it’s great, and it keeps you on your toes.

Stephen Papps: I’ve learnt a huge amount – it’s been a very painful process. Devising for a start, I think not acting in a way – I know that sounds crazy but to not feel as though you’re acting. John makes you bring your own life to the party so in that way I believe you connect more to what’s going on, which always makes it a much more enjoyable experience. He’s a very very passionate man and he’s just great to work with.

How do you feel that this play and its themes relevant today?

Ngapaki Emery: I think that even though we’ve come a long way in terms of our relationships with each other in terms of maori and pakeha… but there is still some work to be done, and I think that the play acknowledges the complexity of that work rather than trying to solve anything which is what I really enjoy about it.

Alan Henry: I think because a lot of the issues that the show deals with are still being talked about today, and still being experienced today. Not in such an extreme level but the idea behind…relationships and this idea of our identity as a culture as New Zealanders not just as maori I think it’s still important today, and it’s still being talked about and it’s something that needs to be thought about.

What have you learnt and enjoyed from working with Taki Rua?

Alan Henry: The biggest thing I’ve enjoyed is that Taki Rua is a company that gives us as actors a lot of freedom. I really feel a sense of freedom when I work with Taki Rua. They give us the chance to make the kind of shows that we want to make and do the things that we want to do

Aaron Cortesi: I think what they try to do sits right at the edge, right at the edge of changing the way we look at theatre here in NZ and our stories, and a cultural shift whether it be in the theatre or not… to feel bold and to feel purposeful in your work is completely remarkable and I’ve never found it anywhere else. Any time I come to work for Taki Rua it feels like you come home, and you settle and you know that you’re part of something that’s bigger than you... You’re able to talk to the work in a way that means you feel more complete as a kiwi and I really dig that as a maker.

"From knowing very little about this episode, I emerge from 75 minutes of riveting theatre feeling in my bones that I have absorbed a deeply empathetic awareness of how it was for the kupapa, the ‘Hauhau’, the colonial ‘establishment’ and Mark Twain... It is with extraordinary skill and profound insight that Mark Twain & Me in Mâoriland explores this crucial part of our history, staking its claim as an important new play and a taonga to be treasured” John Smythe - Theatreview

 

Produced by:  Taki Rua Productions

Director:  John Bolton
Written by:  David Geary & Company

Cast:  Stephen Papps, Maaka Pohatu, Ngapaki Emery, Allan Henry, Aaron Cortesi

Set / Costume Design: Kasia Pol
Design Assistant: Jessica Sanderson
Sound Design / Composition: John Gibson
Design Assistant: Thomas Press
Lighting Design: Glenn Ashworth
Stage Manager: Marlena Campbell
Production Manager:  Glenn Ashworth
Operator:  Cameron Lithgow 

Taki Rua website