Humourbeasts 'Tales Of Maui" Comes to ChCh

17 September 2004

Award Winning Theatre Presented by Taki Rua Productions

By the “Humourbeasts” Directed by Andrew Foster

“Funniest play of the year” NZ Herald, December 2003

“…so hilarious the audience was in stitches” Sunday Star Times, December 2003

“ Humourbeasts Jemaine Clement and Taika Cohen offer the funniest, freshest burst of Maori-driven humour since the ‘whiti repati’ of dear departed Billy T James” NZ International Arts Festival, Dominion Post, March 2004

Taki Rua Productions and Humourbeasts (Jemaine Clement and Taika Cohen) would like to invite you to experience theatre at its very best. From October 13th to November 6th, Christchurch audiences will have the opportunity to see the smash production of “The Untold Tales of Maui”. With the aid of state of the art multi-media devices, massive back-projections, puppetry and computer animated characters, “The Untold Tales of Maui” are brought back to life through the tales of Nanny, the wizened kuia who spins fantastical stories for Kapa, our troubled youth in need of some guidance from the past...

Nanny’s stories take us to a time when the sun raced across the sky like a hoiho hoha (or impatient horse), when people could take their jawbones out at will or change into different animals, when grandmothers could set things on fire with their fingernails, when you could catch fish the size of a small South Pacific nation. At first, young Kapa has no interest in these crusty myths, but as Nanny’s incredible stories gather strength, the young fool is soon drawn into the mysterious and fantastical world of Maui and his famous exploits.

“The Untold Tales of Maui” premiered in Hamilton last November and moved to Whangarei before hitting the Auckland and Wellington stages. With the support of Mäori Women’s Welfare League, Taki Rua Productions is proud to present this award winning show to Christchurch audiences. To find out more on the Humourbeasts (Jemaine Clement and Taika Cohen) or Taki Rua Productions please read on.

Christchurch Season October 13th – November 6th, 2004

Court 2 Theatre Telephone (03)-963 0870 / 0800 333 100 bookings@courttheatre.org.nz

Monday@ 6.15pm, Tuesday + Wednesday@ 8.15pm, Thursday@ 6.15pm Friday – Saturday@ 8.15om No show on Sunday

Sold Out Auckland, 2003

Sold Out NZ International Festival of the Arts, Wellington 2004

Sold Out NZ International Comedy festival Auckland 2004

HUMOURBEASTS Taika Cohen Taika Cohen has recently set up a film company with Cliff Curtis Defender Films. His short film Two Cars, One Night, was presented as part of the 2003 Wellington International Film Festival and is recently up for selection for the 2005 Oscars. Taika has been invited by National geographic to present his film in LA and New York later this year. He has just finished filming a short film about the Maori Battalion in the Wellington Hospital ruins. He won the 24 hours film competition in Wellington. His debut film, John & Pogo was screened in the previous Wellington International Film Festival. Both films were received with much acclaim.

Recent theatre productions Taika has devised, written for, and performed in include sell-out comedy show Humourbeasts: Humouroids, sell-out STAB show AAAAARGH! The Live Movies” (2000), sell-out show “Little Che” (2001), and sell-out STAB show LIVE TRANSMISSIONZ (2002). Taika’s stand up comedy show “Taika’s Incredible Show” sold out at BATS.

Jemaine Clement

Jemaine Clement is well known to New Zealanders as one-half of the outstanding musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. Jemaine joins us fresh off the plane from the Conchords performance at ‘Her Majesty’s Theatre’ London as part of THE PERRIER COMEDY AWARD NOMINATION 2003, the UK's No1 Award for Comedy.

The Flight of the Conchords were based in Britain from June - September. With regular gigs at London's comedy clubs, the Conchords also hit the Festival circuit performing at Glastonbury, The Hague Arts Festival and Galway Arts Festival among others. Television and radio contracts are also in the offing. The Conchords have also been invited to perform at Montreal's Laugh Festival where they have secured a slot in one of the televised gala performances - a coup for a first time appearance at Montreal.

Jemaine co-directed AAAAARRRGH: the Live Movies a sell-out show in 2000 incorporating many multi-media aspects that will be used in “Maui”. He co-directed Claymations short film The Pen with his company Fifty Fields using some of the animation techniques that will be used to convey this mythical tale. Jemaine’s film Tongan Ninja was presented at this year’s International Film Festival.

TAKI RUA PRODUCTIONS

Born in 1997 from the closure of Taki Rua Theatre – Taki Rua Productions has quickly established itself as an industry leader, presenting work that represents Aotearoa/New Zealand’s cultural heart. The name Taki Rua was adopted in 1991 and comes from a weaving pattern that literally means, “to go in twos”.

Our kaupapa is to celebrate and promote Mäori and Pacific culture through the creation, development and production of high profile and high quality theatre.

A multi-award winning company, Taki Rua Productions boasts a high national profile with an ever-increasing international presence on the world stage. Annually between 20,000 and 30,000 people attended a production presented by Taki Rua Productions.

ENDS

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