Kōanga Festival: The “beating Heart” Of Māori Storytelling Turns 10!

Kōanga Festival, an annual event that focuses on Māori storytelling, turns ten this year, and is celebrating with its biggest and most jam-packed three-week program of new work and more than 12 events.

Hosted at Te Pou Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau from 6 – 28 September, Kōanga, spring in the maramataka Māori, is a season that is traditionally to plant for the next harvest. In the same spirit, the role of Kōanga Festival is to cultivate Māori and indigenous storytelling focusing on developing new creative talent and work.

Kōanga Festival Director Amber Curreen, says the festival has been successful for ten years because of community and industry support for, and keen interest in Māori storytelling.

“Kōanga has become the beating heart of the Māori performing arts landscape. It brings people together who pour all of their love and support into indigenous storytelling,” she says.

This year’s festival is the biggest and longest, expanding from a two-week event to a three and a half week festival.

Audiences will be treated to new work from experienced Māori theatre practitioners like Hone Kouka, whose play Ngā Roriori is a comical dance theatre work about one whānau’s relationship with their whenua. Following sold-out performances in Pōneke, Scotty Cotter’s work NEKE makes its Tāmaki debut - a physical theatre work about

self-discovery featuring Moana Ete & Dominic Ona-Ariki and design by acclaimed visual artist Tracey Tawhiao.

New works premiere from rising talent Hone Taukiri in Māori Krisha and Acacia O’Connor, with AltarNative. Both plays explore what it’s like to be Māori and grow up in alternative upbringings.

This year, Kōanga is partnering with New Zealand Opera for Tōiri, hosted by opera star Kawiti Waetford with four kaiwaiata who will sing opera in te reo Māori. The special event is during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Running alongside the shows is an International Indigenous Programme, and a seminar on writing plays in te reo Māori. The festival will end with the new show from award-winning performer, Rutene Spooner Be Like Billy? explores the influence and legacy of the famous comedian.

“The heart of Kōanga is supporting Māori storytelling in its purest forms, whether you’re an experienced writer or a new voice,” Amber says.

A staple at each year’s festival is the support of new works from Māori writers. Four playwrights are chosen to workshop their new plays with a mentor, a director, and actors, and ends in a public reading with the first presentation of that work.

Throughout the ten years, Kōanga Festival has supported nearly fifty Māori playwrights, and ten plays have been fully produced after the workshops, including Jason Te Mete’s Little Black Bitch, Ani-Piki Tuari and the Tuari sibling’s Whakapaupakihi , and Poata Alvie McKree’s, The Handlers, which premiered at Te Pou theatre in May.

This year, the festival had the most submissions, with 48 writers wanting the opportunity to workshop their plays.The four chosen playwrights for Kōanga Festival 2024 are:

Tawhi Thomas with Haere

Tui Matelau with WET

Turene Jones with The Ātaahua Store

Rainton Oneroa with Marmite & Honey

“Our workshops are an opportunity for our Māori writers and performers to make lifelong connections and to help create new work. A certain synergy happens when you’re in that room,” she says.

“Developing new voices is part of the Kōanga Festival’s long term focus on our Māori storytellers and ensuring we are supporting new work.”

Other annual fixtures at the Kōanga Festival is Kaumatua Day, where elders are the focus, and their wealth of stories and experience is celebrated. Also, Whānau Day, a festive time to appreciate our tamariki and whānau with live performances, kai stalls and cultural workshops like weaving and circus demonstrations from The Dust Palace and music from MOHI. Also for the kids is a performance of the te reo play Te Hokinga Mai a Hoiho, returning to Tāmaki after a Northland tour.

Kōanga Festival is delivered by Te Pou Theatre and Te Rehia Theatre with major support from Creative New Zealand, Auckland Council & Foundation North.

The Kōanga Festival at Te Pou Theatre in Auckland from 6 – 28 September 2024. For more information visit: kōangafestival.nz.

© Scoop Media