Pūtahi Festival - a week of choice Māori theatre

Pūtahi Festival - a week of choice Māori theatre

Wellington has a long, proud history of producing iconic Māori theatre and performers, and is home to some of this county's leading Māori theatre writers, directors, actors and producers who continue to present international quality work for our stages in an environment where arts funding and performance space is hotly contested.

So, where else would you hold a festival of Māori Theatre?
This February *Te Pūtahitanga a te Rēhia, an Independent Māori Theatre collective of long time theatre professionals such as Jim Moriarty, Nancy Brunning, Tanemahuta Gray and Hone Kouka; and including many more of the Wellington Māori Theatre community, will be adding to the arts festivities in the city by offering Pūtahi Festival – a week of choice Māori theatre and a celebration of the diversity of Te Ao Māori.

The festival is offering international quality theatre with prices that have the community in mind where you can expect to see fresh, inspiring, heartening and uniquely Māori theatre works, both seasoned and new.

Featuring Hone Kouka's newest work the beautiful ones - a hyper real digital love story produced by Tawata Productions, Te Rakau Trust's moving story of friendship, love, madness and redemption The Battalion, Bruce Mason Award 2013 recipient Jamie McCaskill's new work Not in our Neighbourhood, a solo show on life at the Women's Refuge, produced by Tikapa Productions, as well as an afternoon of play readings and TGI Whanau – an evening of fine Māori music and company.

The festival is on from 25 February - 1 March at Studio 77, 77 Fairlie Terrace, Kelburn, Wellington. Go to http://putahifestival.com for more information.

*Te Pūtahitanga a te Rēhia is an Independent Māori Theatre collective formed in January 2013 to support, share and create Māori works/experiences for Wellington, NZ and the world. We have come together to strengthen the Māori Theatre community, advocate for change within the current infra-structure and support the needs of the community at present. The members of Te Pūtahitanga are committed to theatre and Māori culture. We believe in leaving a healthy and supported industry for the next generation of practitioners to come. The Pūtahi Festival is the first project the collective will be working on together.

ENDS

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