Othello reimagined by a cheeky Maori and his masks
SolOthello written by William Shakespeare and Regan Taylor
Directed by Craig Geenty
Othello reimagined by a cheeky Maori and his masks
SolOthello will mark Māori actor Regan Taylor solo debut of at Circa Theatre during Matariki. As part of the inaugural Kia Mau Festival (formerly Ahi Kaa Festival), Māori Performance Mask (Te Mata Kokako o Rēhia) will come to life for the first time in Wellington as Taylor unfolds his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello in his solo performance SolOthello. This production is also the first time Auckland’s leading Māori theatre company Te Rēhia Theatre’s is presenting a theatrical piece in Pōneke.
Set in Te Ao Māori and directed by Craig Geenty, SolOthello weaves together the original prose, modern English and Te Reo Māori to deliver a dynamic and cheeky interpretation of one of history’s more tragic plays.
Working with three Māori masks, Taylor (Mahana, Hoki Mai Tama Mā) says: “We’ve put the spotlight on the characters of Iago, Rodrigo, Othello and Desdemona and explored them physically through the performance mask form. In this version the war setting is maintained as the backdrop for the story and is transposed onto a battle between two far flung iwi in pre-colonial Aotearoa.
“We’ve placed the tale within a Te Ao Māori context to focus on three aspects; character, the core story line that is driven by the characters very human motivations and on finding the humour in this tragedy, with the main pou (framework) for doing the play being to highlight the deterioration of man.”
Inspired by working with Commedia dell'artemasks at drama school (Ucol Theatre) coupled with dreams about the beautiful carvings on the marae walls coming to life, Taylor started working with Te Mata Kokako o Rēhia to combine all his passions in one media.
Following this short season at Circa Theatre, Taylor hopes to be able to take his unique solo piece to other countries around the globe where mask work is deeply steeped in their culture.
Funnily enough Taylor admits that he actually hated Shakespeare before working on this show. “I now realise that every word he has written has a purpose and that he has taken the time to polish every word so they can sit and shine. And I truly believe that being able to combine Shakespeare, masks and Te Ao Māori is a winning combination.
ENDS