Tawata Productions is contemporary Māori and Pasifika performing arts company established in 2004 based in

Te Whanganui-a-Tara Te Whanganui-a-Tara is the Māori name for Wellington Harbour. The term is also used to refer to the city of Wellington which lies on the shores of the harbour. ''Te Whanganui-a-Tara'' translates as "the great harbour of Tara", named for Tara, a s ...

(

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

), New Zealand. They produce theatre, screen and digital work as well as the festivals: Kia Mau, Breaking Ground and the Pūtahi Festival. Tawata showcases work by Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous writers and makers and is led by

Hone Kouka Hone Vivian Kouka is a New Zealand playwright. He has written 13 plays, which have been staged in New Zealand and worldwide including Canada, South Africa, New Caledonia and Britain. Kouka's plays have won multiple awards at the Chapman Tripp T ...

and Mīria George.

About

Tawata Productions was founded by playwrights and directors Mīria George and Hone Kouka in 2004 and their home base is

. Tawata Productions produce and tour theatre productions. Productions include ''I,George Nepia'' (2011, by Hone Kouka), about rugby legend

George Nēpia George Nēpia (25 April 1905 – 27 August 1986) was a New Zealand Māori rugby union and rugby league player. He is remembered as an exceptional full-back and one of the most famous Māori rugby players. He was inducted into the New Zealand Spor ...

, ''He Reo Aroha,'' by Mīria George and

Jamie McCaskill Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

, ''The Prospect'' by Maraea Rakuraku, and ''Hui'' by Mitch Tawhi-Thomas. Tawata are invested in promoting, producing and developing work, to this end they have started several events. In 2010 they created an annual festival called the Matariki Festival, first held at

Circa Theatre Circa Theatre is a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that was established in 1976. They present a number of plays each year in their two auditoriums, and have a unique partnership and funding model with incoming shows unde ...

Matariki ), signalling the Māori new year., litcolor=, observedby=New Zealanders, nickname=, official_name=, alt=, image=M45 Pleiades Pbkwee (cropped to core 9 stars).jpg, relatedto=, date2022=24 June, date2023=14 July In Māori culture, Matariki is the ...

is the Māori New Year in midwinter. The Matariki Festival had a development programme that since has been renamed as Breaking Ground. Breaking Ground is a festival of new writing and ideas curated and produced by Tawata Productions. Kouka and George were inspired by a development dance festival hosted by

Native Earth Performing Arts Native Earth Performing Arts is a Canadian theatre company located in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1982, Native Earth is Canada's oldest professional Indigenous theatre company. Native Earth is dedicated to developing, producing and presenting pro ...

in Canada. The first plays workshopped at Breaking Ground in 2010 were ''Hui'' by

Mitch Tawhi Thomas Mitch Tawhi Thomas (Ngāti Maniapoto) is a New Zealand playwright, actor and drama teacher. Education Thomas affiliates to Ngāti Maniapoto. Thomas graduated from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School in 1997 with a Diploma in Acting. Career Tawh ...

, ''The Prospect'' by Maraea Rakuraku and ''Taikaha'' by Hinekaa Mako. The Matariki Festival won Tawata Productions the Critics’ Wildcard award in 2015 at the

Wellington Theatre Awards The Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai / Wellington Theatre Awards are the main theatre awards in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington established in 2015 after the previous awards sponsor ended their support. They are awarded annually. The prev ...

. In 2011 Breaking Ground expanded with First Nation Canadian playwrights

Yvette Nolan Yvette Nolan (Algonquian peoples, Algonquin) (1961) is a Canadians, Canadian playwright, director, actor, and educator based out of Saskatchewan, Canada. She was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. She has contributed significantly to the creati ...

and Tara Beagan attended. Other artists who have had their writing workshopped and presented at Breaking Ground include Nancy Brunning in 2018 with ''Kingdom of Women,'' Sherilee Kahui, Victor Rodger, Barbara Hostelek, and Jordy Gregg (

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

). The workshops involve directors and dramaturgs such as

Briar Grace-Smith Briar Grace-Smith is a screenwriter, director, actor, and short story writer from New Zealand. She has worked as an actor and writer with the Maori theatre cooperative Te Ohu Whakaari and Maori theatre company He Ara Hou. Early plays ''Don't Ca ...

, Rīwia Brown and

Nathaniel Lees Nathaniel Lees is a New Zealand theatre actor and director and film actor of Samoan descent, best known for film roles in ''The Matrix Reloaded'', ''The Matrix Revolutions'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' and for starring in ''You ...

. The

Kia Mau Festival The Kia Mau Festival, previously called Ahi Kaa Festival, is a biennial performing arts festival in Wellington, New Zealand. In te reo Māori, kia mau is "a call to stay - an invitation to join us". The festival covers Māori, Pasifika and in ...

, formally the Ahi Kaa Festival, is a contemporary Indigenous theatre and dance festival held in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. It was initiated in 2015 by Tawata to platform Māori, Pasifika theatre and dance companies and to address the lack of programming for these companies in established theatres and festivals. Some companies that have presented work at the Kia Mau Festival include Hāpai Productions,

Modern Māori Quartet The Modern Māori Quartet (MMQ) is a showband musical group from New Zealand. The group comprises core members James Tito, Matariki Whatarau, Maaka Pohatu and Francis Kora, with occasional rotation of the lineup depending on availability of the pe ...

, Taki Rua Productions, Agaram Productions, The Māori Sidesteps,

Atamira Dance Company Atamira Dance Company is a Māori contemporary dance company in Aotearoa (New Zealand) based at the Corban Estate Arts Centre in Auckland. History In 2000, the company was founded from a vision of Jack Gray's for a collective of young Māori ...

, Okareka Dance Company and Te Rēhia Theatre. The Pūtahi Festival is for emerging practitioners to test and show works to an audience. It started in 2013 and for the first few years was held at Studio 77, the Theatre Department of

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

. In 2021 it ran over nine days.

Selected productions

References

External links

* https://tawataproductions.com/ * {{DEFAULTSORT: Theatre in New Zealand Theatre companies in New Zealand