Taki Rua is a theatre organisation based in

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 ...

Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the current Māori-language name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference to only the North Island, with the name of the whole country being ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' ("North Island and South ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

that has produced many contemporary

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

theatre productions. Taki Rua has been going since 1983 and has had several name changes over that time including The New Depot, Depot Theatre and Taki Rua / The Depot. The full current name is Taki Rua Productions. Since inception the mission of Taki Rua has been to showcase work from Aotearoa. Because of this and the longevity of Taki Rua many significant New Zealand actors, directors, writers, designers and producers have part of the history including

Riwia Brown Riwia Brown (née Taylor; born 1957) is a New Zealand playwright. She is the screenwriter of the popular and award-winning New Zealand movie ''Once Were Warriors'' (1994). The ''Once Were Warriors'' screenplay, adapted from the book of the sam ...

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 ...

, Rachel House and

Taika Waititi Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. He is a recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Grammy Award, and has received two nominations at t ...

Background

Taki Rua started in Wellington in 1983 when a group took over The Depot, a second performance space that

Downstage Theatre Downstage Theatre was a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that ran from 1964 to 2013. For many years it occupied the purpose-built Hannah Playhouse building. Former directors include Sunny Amey, Mervyn Thompson, and Coli ...

had set up a year previously, they changed the name to the New Depot. This collective group was

Colin McColl Sir Colin Hugh Verel McColl, (born 6 September 1932) was Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) from 1989 to 1994. Career Educated at Shrewsbury School and at The Queen's College, Oxford, McColl joined the diplomatic service in 1 ...

Jean Betts Jean Betts is a New Zealand playwright, actor and director. Background Jean Betts emigrated with her parents (both founders of Unity Theatre, London), to Christchurch, New Zealand. She obtained a degree at University of Canterbury in English Li ...

Philippa Campbell Philippa Campbell is a New Zealand film and television producer and the Literary Manager at the Auckland Theatre Company. Theatre Philippa Campbell began her career in the theatre as an actor and director in the 1980s. In 1981, she was involved in ...

, Fiona Johnstone, Alyson Baker, Richard Mudford, Phillip Mann and John Banas. Colin McColl when interviewed in 2013 says about the start, "We wanted primarily something for New Zealand writers and also Maori and Pacific Island writers. That was the initial vision." In that year about 15 shows were presented including a late-night satirical cabaret by Rangimoana Taylor and ''Asking For It'' written and directed by New Zealand feminist playwright Renee. The New Depot was run as a cooperative with the people involved in each show taking the box office risk. At the end of 1985 the New Depot moved to an upstairs premises in Alpha Street at the back of Courtenay Place. In 1992 the Depot Theatre became Taki Rua The Depot and then in 1994 to just Taki Rua. Former director of Taki Rua and playwright Hone Kouka says of the name, "Taki Rua is a weaving pattern and means to go in twos - signifying the bi-cultural aspect of the theatre." Taki Rua as a venue closed in 1997 and changed to operating purely as a production company, focusing on touring and presenting works in other venues. The name changed to Taki Rua Productions, and is still running under this name although mostly referred to as Taki Rua. The loss of a venue as a home base for collectives to come together was mourned by the theatre community, with a reflection written in the 2013 publication ''Playmarket 40''. In 2016 Taki Rua joined with Māori theatre company Tawata and Pacific theatre company The Conch, to set up a new home base but not a performance venue in Wellington called Te Haukāinga. In 2020 Te Haukāinga is currently shared by Taki Rua, The Māori Sidesteps, The Performance Arcade and Te Hau Tūtū. In 2021 the staff of Taki Rua include the Kahukura / Chief Executive, Tānemahuta Gray, Kaiwhakahaere Matua / General Manager, Nathan McKendry and Pou Tikanga Mātauranga Māori, Pekaira Jude Rei. Their Ngā Kaiurungi /

Board Members A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervise the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiza ...

are

Toni Huata Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegia ...

, Tama Kirikiri, Simon Garrett, Trish Stevenson, Adrian Wagner, Tolis Papazoglou, Jamie Ferguson, Pearl Sidwell, Roimata Kirikiri and Patrick Hape.

Kaumātua

Experienced practitioners 'elders' were named as

kaumātua A kaumātua is a respected tribal elder of either sex in a Māori community who has been involved with their whānau for a number of years. They are appointed by their people who believe the chosen elders have the capacity to teach and guide both ...

of Taki Rua. They gave guidance and support and were both Māori and Pākehā. Over the years this group of respected people included

Tungia Baker Tungia Dorothea Gloria Baker (8 October 1939 – 25 July 2005) was a New Zealand actor, weaver, and administrator. Her notable acting roles included Ngahuia in the 1980s television drama ''Open House'' and Hira in the 1993 film ''The Piano''. ...

, John Tahuparae,

Wi Kuki Kaa Wi Kuki Kaa (16 December 1938 – 19 February 2006) was a New Zealand actor in film, theatre and television. He was from the Māori iwi of Ngati Porou and Ngati Kahungunu. Family Kaa was born in Rangitukia on New Zealand's East Cape. His fa ...

, Bob Wiki,

Rona Bailey Rona Bailey (née Stephenson; 24 December 1914 – 7 September 2005) was a New Zealand drama and dance practitioner, educationalist and activist. Bailey was influential in emerging contemporary dance and professional theatre in New Zealand. She ...

, Keri Kaa and

Sunny Amey Sunny Amey (born 1928) is a theatre director and educator born in New Zealand. She worked at the National Theatre of England during its formative years alongside Laurence Olivier, as artistic director of Downstage Theatre in the 1970s and the ...

Significant Moments

The Māori theatre group

Te Ohu Whakaari Te Ohu Whakaari was a Māori theatre cooperative formed by Rangimoana Taylor in the early 1980s that created and performed plays across New Zealand. About Rangimoana Taylor was inspired to form Te Ohu Whakaari by his experiences in an Auckland ...

involving writers

Rowley Habib Rowley Habib (24 April 1933 – 3 April 2016), also known as Rore Hapipi, was a New Zealand poet, playwright, and writer of short stories and television scripts. Biography Of Lebanese and Māori descent, Habib identified with the Ngāti Tūw ...

(Rore Hapipi),

Hone Tuwhare Honing is a kind of metalworking. Hone may also refer to: * Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname * Hõne language Hõne is a Jukunoid language spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria ...

and Apirana Taylor were part of the early Taki Rua days. ''Le Matau (The Fish Hook)'' was presented at the New Depot in 1984, the first Samoan language play to be performed in New Zealand, by the group Taotahi Ma Uo. Written by Stephen Sinclair and Samson Samasoni. The play ''Kohanga'' by Apirana Taylor was produced in 1986 about current issue of the establishment of Kohanga Reo in New Zealand reflecting the political stories in many Māori plays of the time. Theatrical New Zealand band ''

The Front Lawn The Front Lawn was a New Zealand musical/theatrical duo founded by Don McGlashan and Harry Sinclair in 1985. In 1989 and 1990, they were joined by actor Jennifer Ward-Lealand. The Front Lawn were known for their live performances, and toured ex ...

'' performed in October 1987 two years after they formed. They had a distinctive New Zealand voice which coincidentally influenced playwright

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 ...

in the mid-1980s, who was also later to be the director of Taki Rua. Early Maōri theatre companies ''Te Ika a Maui'' and ''

'' under the directorship of

Jim Moriarty James Moriarty (born 20 June 1953) is a New Zealand actor and theatre director, who began acting professionally in 1967. He came to national attention and is probably best known for his role as the school teacher Riki Winiata in the 1970s soap ...

present a programme of Māori theatre at the Depot for Wellington's International Arts Festival in 1990 including Māori plays by Bruce Stewart and John Broughton. This initiated the concept of Theatre Marae and is part of the beginning of the longest running Māori theatre company '' Te Rākau Hua o te Wao Tapu'' led by Jim Moriarty. The seed of Taki Rua as a Māori production company happens in 1994 with the establishment of a theatre company called Te Ropu Whakaari with the mission to showcase new Māori work. On 25 May 1994, Taki Rua Theatre held the first performance of

's play '' Nga Tangata Toa''. The cast included

as Taneatua,

Shimpal Lelisi Shimpal Lelisi (born ) is a New Zealand actor and TV presenter, best known as one of the members of the Naked Samoans. Biography Born in Niue, Shimpal came to New Zealand at the age of four. He began acting at an early age, taking part in scho ...

as Te Riri, Nancy Brunning as Rongomai, and Apirana Taylor as Paikea. 1995 was the year of the first annual ''Te Reo Māori Season'', theatre in Te Reo Māori. Touring to rural iwi-based communities and

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

with the Te Reo Māori performances is a significant achievement, and these tours are still going. ''Think of a Garden'' written by

John Kneubuhl John Alexander Kneubuhl (July 2, 1920 – February 20, 1992) was an American Samoan screenwriter, playwright and Polynesian historian. He wrote for American television series such as '' The Fugitive'', ''Gunsmoke'', ''The Wild Wild West'', ''Star ...

and directed by

presented at Taki Rua on Alpha Street won three awards at the

Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards The Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards were the main theatre awards in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, from 1992–2014, and have been succeeded by the Wellington Theatre Awards. Established in 1992 and sponsored by law firm Chapman Tripp, ...

in 1995, including an acting award for

Sima Urale Sima Urale is a New Zealand filmmaker. Her films explore social and political issues and have been screened worldwide. She is one of the few Polynesian film directors in the world with more than 15 years in the industry. Her accolades include th ...

. In 2000 Rachel House won an award for her outstanding performance in Taki Rua's play ''Women Far Walking'' by

Witi Ihimaera Witi Tame Ihimaera-Smiler (; born 7 February 1944) is a New Zealand author. Raised in the small town of Waituhi, he decided to become a writer as a teenager after being convinced that Māori people were ignored or mischaracterised in literat ...

. The comedy ''The Untold Tales of Māui'' by the Humour Beasts,

and Jermaine Clement was produced by Taki Rua and toured New Zealand over 2003 and 2004. A 2004 review states, "simple yet sophisticated, flippant yet strangely relevant and affirming." The first play performed in te reo Māori for adult rather than child audiences to tour Aotearoa, ''He Kura E Huna Ana,'' premiered at the Forge at the Court Theatre in 1995 in a development season. In 2015 Taki Rua produced

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 ...

s' play ''Ngā Pou Wahine'' twenty years after the first presentation at Taki Rua in 1995. The new version is the directing debut for

Miriama McDowell Miriama McDowell is a New Zealand actor, director and playwright. She is a graduate of Toi Whakaari. McDowell has a long association with Massive Theatre Company in Auckland, and has both acted and directed for the Pop-up Globe, including direc ...

and the solo debut of Kura Forrester. In 1995 it was directed by Nancy Brunning and performed by Rachel House.

References

External links

* https://www.takirua.co.nz {{Authority control Māori Theatres in Wellington City Theatre companies in New Zealand 1983 establishments in New Zealand