Classic New Zealand Thriller with a Te Reo Māori Translation

Classic New Zealand Thriller with a Te Reo Māori Translation

Te Rēhia Theatre present
MO & JESS KILL SUSIE - E KORE A MURI E HOKIA
Directed by Tainui Tukiwaho / Written by Gary Henderson / Translated by Ani-Piki Tuari, Hania Douglas, Te Aorere Pewhairangi & Tawaroa Kawana.

Te Rēhia Theatre are proud to present the return of the te reo Māori translation of Gary Henderson’s classic thriller Mo and Jess Kill Susie, E Kore A Muri E Hokia, live on stage. This Matariki season sees the show heading to Basement Theatre from 27 June – 1 July.

A timeless hostage drama, the reo Māori title for this play, E Kore a Muri e Hokia, is a kiwaha (saying) that roughly means ‘there is no going back’ or ‘what is done is done’. The original work by Henderson is a favourite of the creative team behind the production for its complex female characters, the focus on relationships in the tense thriller narrative, and importantly, the fantastic language and imagery which allows the te reo Māori to shine.

Set in a fictional future where the established avenues of protest for racial equality have not delivered the results needed, two young Māori women take things into their own hands. Representing the frustration of a many, the play unfolds as Mo and Jess take a pākeha police officer hostage; three women, two guns, one room, and no way out.

Prior to this production, Mo & Jess Kill Susie has been performed in Auckland, Wellington, and in Canada by a company of first nations performers. For E Kore A Muri E Hokia, three distinguished women take to the stage: Ani-Piki Tuari, a multi-talented creative known for her lyrical and composition skill in both te reo Māori and English in the fields of Kapahaka, Haka Theatre, and theatrical performance; Krystal-lee Brown, a passionate reo advocate with specialist skills in presenting, researching, writing, and singing for various shows on Māori television as a first language te reo speaker; and Ascia Maybury, a classically trained actor who has been on the stage since before she was born, as well as a regular performer/collaborator with Te Rēhia Theatre Company.

The director of the acclaimed 2016 te reo production Purapurawhetū, Tainui Tukiwaho (Te Arawa/Tuhoe) returns to the directors chair for this season of E Kore a Muri e Hokia. With a well-established career over the last decade as a director, actor, and producer in Auckland, Tukiwaho is the pre-eminent face and voice for creating opportunities for the Māori theatre community.

Gary Henderson is one of most prominent writers in the country, receiving of the Playmarket Award in 2013, recognising him as a playwright who has made a significant artistic contribution to theatre in New Zealand, with his works having been professionally produced around New Zealand, in South Africa, Australia, Great Britain, Canada and the United States. Penning the original English work, Mo & Jess Kill Susie won Henderson the Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for the best new short play in 1996. The combined powers of Hania Douglas, Te Aorere Pewhairangi, Tawaroa Kawana, and Ani-Piki Tuari, who also stars in the show, have adapted the English into the te reo Māori translation for the production.

Director Tainui Tukiwaho is proud to direct the production of the translated tale, saying “It’s vital to put Māori work on the stage that isn’t limited to historic stories. This is an opportunity for us to be part of the revitalisation of te reo in our modern lives making the language live and breathe today.”

“Mo and Jess Kill Susie is a play that challenges your mind and grips you to your seats, presenting the Maori language in an intense and spine-chilling way never done before” - Tearaway Magazine 2017

E Kore A Muri E Hokia plays:
Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland)
The Basement Theatre
Tuesday 27 June – Saturday 1 July, 6.30pm
Book at www.basementtheatre.co.nz or phone iTicket 09 361 1000

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