Nga Tangata Toa | |
---|---|
Written by | Hone Kouka |
Based on | The Vikings at Helgeland |
Date premiered | 1994 |
Original language | English, with some te reo Māori |
Subject | a son returns to the marae from World War I, prompting the revelation of long-held family secrets, and revenge. |
Genre | tragedy |
Nga Tangata Toa (The Warrior People) is a 1994 play by New Zealand playwright Hone Kouka. The play has themes of revenge, family honour, and long-held secrets.
Nga Tangata Toa was heralded as a masterpiece in New Zealand theatre. Directed by veteran theatre director Colin McColl (NZ Laureate), Nga Tangata Toa was first staged at Taki Rua Theatre in Wellington in 1994 and won numerous awards at the prestigious Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards. In the lead role of Rongomai was award winning actress Nancy Brunning. Nga Tangata Toa was inspired by Henrik Ibsen's play The Vikings at Helgeland.
Further productions of Nga Tangata Toa took place in Auckland in 1995, Dunedin in 1997, also involving a three night tour to Timaru, and in Wellington at Downstage Theatre in 2006.
The play was written by Hone Kouka [1] and first performed in Wellington in 1994. Director Colin McColl had directed Henrik Ibsen's The Vikings at Helgeland in Norway, and suggested to Kouka that he adapt it. [2] The play moves through the traditional stages of Māori ceremony from pōwhiri (welcome) to poroporoaki (farewell). In the original staging, the audience is placed either side of a transverse stage with regular floor-to-ceiling posts, reminiscent of a wharenui (meeting-house), and a mirror was placed so that the audience could see itself. In the 2006 revival, Kouka added that a karakia (prayer) be offered before the final curtain-call, in accordance with Māori tikanga, to "close the door" to the spirit-world that had been opened by Rongomai's death. [2]
The play was published by Victoria University Press in 1994, with notes on the characters and first production details. [1]
The play is set in 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War. Taneatua, who has been serving with the Pioneer Battalion in Europe, returns as a hero. Te Wai meets Taneatua in Auckland to travel back to Onehora (a fictional place on the East Coast) with him. During the journey, Te Wai shows Taneatua a letter from her sister Rongomai, revealing that Rongomai and Wi will be at Onehora. Taneatua checks that Te Wai still has a pounamu he gave her, and is reassured that nobody has seen she has it. He wants her to give the pounamu back to him so he can get rid of it, but she refuses because he won't tell her why it is bad luck.
On a sheep station in the Kaikōura Ranges in the South Island. Rose has a letter from Kahu, her husband who was killed during the war. The letter describes how as a child Kahu had seen the death of Rongomai's father, Whai. Paikea could have saved Whai from drowning but did not even try. Rongomai reveals that she knew this version of events as a child but had forgotten. Rose has told Rongomai of Kahu's letter because she is seeking revenge for having been thrown off the marae by Paikea when Kahu died. Rongomai decides to avenge her father's death.
On the beach in Onehora, Paikea and Te Riri are practising the taiaha with rākau. Paikea admonishes Te Riri for getting angry. Te Riri wants to be like his brothers, nga tangata toa (the warrior people) but he is too young and small to have fought in the war. He performs a haka but gets breathless doing it. The following day at the beach, Rongomai, Wi and their son Houhou are waiting for dawn before approaching the marae. Wi explains to Houhou that Rongomai had not returned for any of her uncles' funerals, nor kept in touch with anyone except Te Wai, so it is strange she has been in a hurry to get back this time. Wi and Rongomai discuss how Wi had saved Taneatua's life when they were whaling together. Entering the marae, Rongomai insists they take Rose with them, despite Paikea's protestations. Rongomai promises to find some herbs to help Te Riri with his breathing.
During the pōwhiri, Taneatua gives his bayonet as koha (gift). Taneatua asks Te Wai for the pounamu again. He explains that on the night he and Wi left Onehora for the war, they had got drunk and determined not to leave without a wife. Rongomai had announced no one could marry her unless they could creep into her room without waking her. Wi had silently killed the two dogs that guarded Rongomai and so the two had married. Taneatua reveals now that it was he that killed the dogs on Wi's behalf and also spent the night with Rongomai, who he says was drunk and thought he was Wi. Taneatua took Rongomai's pounamu, which he gave to Te Wai. Te Wai is happy that Taneatua chose to marry her instead of Rongomai, and refuses to return the pounamu.
During the night, Taneatua, Te Riri and Rongomai all have premonitions of their own death.
At the feast, Paikea has gone for a walk on the beach. Rongomai insults Paikea, and although the others choose to ignore it, Te Riri cannot, and Rongomai and Te Riri fight with rākau. Wi takes over from Rongomai, but Te Riri becomes breathless, and Wi and Te Wai ask Rongomai to help him with herbs. After ordering everyone but Rose to leave, Rongomai gets her revenge on Paikea by letting Te Riri die without assistance. A week after Te Riri's tangi (funeral), the women are arguing while planting potatoes. Paikea is sick with grief and refusing to eat. Rongomai reveals that she knows Paikea let her father drown, and Te Riri's death is her revenge. Te Wai shows Rongomai her pounamu, to reveal the trick that Taneatua and Wi played on the night the dogs were killed.
Te Wai and Taneatua persuade Paikea not to give up on life. Rongomai enchants Taneatua, and persuades Wi to challenge him. Rose tells Rongomai she knows that Rongomai is trying to harm Taneatua, and the two decide to burn down the marae. Te Wai and Rongomai meet on the beach, Rongomai is seeing ghosts, her curse has turned on her. The marae burns. Taneatua stops Rongomai walking into the sea, and she asks him to come away with her. He refuses and she stabs him with the bayonet. Rongomai walks into the sea, called by her tīpuna.
Production | Date | Crew | Cast |
---|---|---|---|
Taki Rua Theatre, Alpha Street, Wellington | 25 May 1994 | Director: Colin McColl Dramaturg: Halldis Hoaas Designer: Dorita Hannah Music: Gareth Farr Lighting: Helen Todd | Paikea: Apirana Taylor Te Riri: Shimpal Lelisi Te Wai: Erina Toi-Paku Taneatua: Jim Moriarty Wi: Matthew Chamberlain Rongomai: Nancy Brunning Rose: Hera Dunleavy Houhou: Samuel Toia/Tyson Day [1] |
Watershed Theatre, Auckland, by Taki Rua Productions | 10 November 1995 – 2 December 1995 | Director: Colin McColl | Taneatua: Cliff Curtis Rongomai: Nancy Brunning Rose: Hera Dunleavy Wi: Simon Ferry Te Riri: Shimpal Lelisi [3] |
The Globe Theatre, Dunedin, by Kilimogo Productions, Dunedin [2] | 4–12 July 1997 | Co-Directors: Rangimoana Taylor and | Awatea Edwin Erina Daniels David O'Donnnell |
Timaru Playhouse in Timaru, by Kilimogo Productions [5] | 12–15 December 1997 | as per Dunedin production | as per Dunedin production |
Downstage Theatre, Wellington, by Taki Rua productions | 18 Oct 2006 to 4 Nov 2006 | Director: James Beaumont Set designer: Tracey Monastra Lighting: Martyn Roberts Sound: Stephen Gallagher Costumes: Zoe Fox | Paikea: Calvin Tuteao Te Riri: Nepia Takuira-Mita Te Wai: Olivia Robinson Taneatua: Rob Mokaraka Wi: Matt Saville Rongomai: Erina Daniels |
The Evening Post said of the original production of the play that "Kouka has written a brooding, intense and complex epic tragedy that is both enormously challenging and satisfying." [8] "Nga Tangata Toa's exploration of utu, of loyalty-driven revenge, and its no-win outcomes (as old as ancient Greek and Roman theatre, very present in Shakespeare's tragedies and Jacobean theatre's most popular genre) has far more relevance and resonance than anyone would wish." [7] For Laurie Atkinson of the Dominion Post, it is "one of the best Māori plays in my opinion because it does not attempt to contain or water down the fiery emotional forces that drive the central characters, and it tells a melodramatic story with a daring flamboyant style that uses both English and Māori to telling effect". [9]
Of the original production Brunning's performance as Rongomai was especially noted. Atkinson called her "this Lady Macbeth of the marae smoulders with dark passions and her hatred...is blood-chilling". It was noted that despite the violence of her actions, Brunning was able to garner sympathy for Rongomai's situation. To Susan Budd, Brunning gave an "incandescent performance". [2] Carnegie and O'Donnell assert that it is through creating sympathy for the character of Rongomai, based on the villain Hjordis, that Kouka changes Ibsen's melodrama into a "full-blown tragedy". [2]
Reviews of the 2006 Downstage production Monastra's set was seen as "strangely straight-edged", and "(too) austere", although Atkinson considered it had the necessary classical simplicity. [10] [7] Lynn Freeman considered that "the play screams out for atmosphere and menace". [10]
Nga Tangata Toa won the New New Zealand Play of the Year award at the 1994 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards, as well as the Taki Rua Production of the Year award. Dorita Hannah won the Costume Designer of the Year award. [3]
The Rātana movement is a church and pan-iwi political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th-century New Zealand. The Rātana Church has its headquarters at the settlement of Rātana Pā near Whanganui.
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi (tribe) of the South Island. Its takiwā is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti, Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point in the north to Stewart Island / Rakiura in the south. The takiwā comprises 18 rūnanga corresponding to traditional settlements.
Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori iwi (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its rohe extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston North in the east, and Kaikoura and Hokitika in the south. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of only about 4500. It has four marae: Takapūwāhia and Hongoeka in Porirua City, and Whakatū and Wairau in the north of the South Island. Ngāti Toa's governing body has the name Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira.
Tungia Dorothea Gloria Baker 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. Baker was influential in contemporary Māori theatre, Māori film making and Māori arts. She named the Taki Rua Theatre, and was a founding member of Māori artists' collectives Te Manu Aute and Haeata.
Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatu/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa.
Ngāti Kahu is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kahu take their name from their founding ancestress, Kahutianui, and link their ancestry back to the waka Māmaru. The captain of Māmaru was Te Parata who married Kahutianui.
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 Theatre Awards, the 'Oscars' of New Zealand theatre. Kouka has also worked as a theatre director and producer. In 2009, Kouka was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to contemporary Māori theatre.
Nancy Brunning was a New Zealand actress, director, and writer who won awards in film and television and made a major contribution to the growth of Māori in the arts. Brunning was of Māori descent from the tribes of Ngati Raukawa and Ngai Tuhoe. She won the best actress award at the New Zealand Film Awards for her lead role in the film What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999), the sequel to cult classic Once Were Warriors. In 2000, she won the Best Actress in Drama award at the New Zealand Television Awards for her lead role in the television series Nga Tohu. She was the acting coach for the Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night directed by Taika Waititi. According to friend and frequent collaborator Temuera Morrison, she "paved the way" for Māori actors in New Zealand.
Riwia Brown 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 same name by Alan Duff, gained Brown the Best Screenplay award at the 1994 New Zealand Film and TV Awards. Brown has written for theatre, television and films.
Ngāti Te Wehi is a Māori iwi (tribe) based in Kawhia on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.
Mīria George is a New Zealand writer, producer and director of Māori and Cook Island descent. Best known for being the author of award-winning stage plays, George has also written radio, television and poetry, and was one of the film directors of the portmanteau film Vai. In November 2005, she won the Emerging Pacific Artist's Award at the Arts Pasifika Awards. Mīria George was the first Cook Islands artist to receive the Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer's Residency at the University of Hawaii.
Rotoiti is a settlement on the shore of Lake Rotoiti, in Rotorua Lakes within the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island.
Roma Potiki is a New Zealand poet, playwright, visual artist, curator, theatre actor and director, as well as a commentator on Māori theatre. She is of Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngati Rangitihi descent. As well as being a published poet, her work is included in the permanent collection of the Dowse Art Museum.
Taki Rua is a theatre organisation based in Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand that has produced many contemporary Māori 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, Nathaniel Lees, Rachel House and Taika Waititi.
Kilimogo Productions is bicultural theatre collective based in Ōtepoti Dunedin that was founded in 1995 or 1996.
Rob Mokaraka is a New Zealand playwright and actor. He affiliates to Nga Puhi and Ngai Tuhoe.
Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland is a 1996 play by New Zealand playwright Hone Kouka. The play describes the social dislocation that happens to Māori who leave their tribal lands. It is the first part of a trilogy with Homefires (1998) and The Prophet (2004), and the teenagers of The Prophet are the children of Waiora's Amiria, Rongo and Boyboy.
Miriama McDowell is a New Zealand actor, director and playwright of Māori descent. She is a graduate of Toi Whakaari.
Jason Te Kare is a New Zealand director, playwright and actor.
Tawata Productions is contemporary Māori and Pasifika performing arts company established in 2004 based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), 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 and Mīria George.