Next-level Immersive Theatre Performance Based On Māori Legend To Tour Aotearoa In 2024

Boundary-pushing kaupapa Māori theatre company Taki Rua Productions will tour its captivating new, large-scale aerial dance theatre work, Hatupatu | Kurungaituku: a forbidden love, across the motu in February and March 2024. Based on the Te Arawa iwi kōrero (legend) of Hatupatu and Kurungaituku, or Hatupatu and the Bird Woman, this is a thrilling immersive experience which evokes the towering bird realm, forests, and geo-thermal forces of Rotorua.

The FNZ season of Hatupatu | Kurungaituku: a forbidden love premieres as part of the 2024 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts in February before touring to Tamaki Makaurau and Ōtautahi, and then ultimately closing in the home of the eminent iwi kōrero, Rotorua.

It is a story of survival and love between the young Te Arawa warrior Hatupatu and the other-worldly bird woman, Kurungaituku. Combining breathtaking aerial work by award-winning artistic director and aerialist Tānemahuta Gray (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitāne, Waikato (whāngai)) and kapa haka developed in collaboration with Wētini Mītai-Ngātai (Te Arawa, Ngāti Pikiao), leader of two-time Te Mataini-winning kapa haka rōpū Te Mararae i o Rehu, this is next-level contemporary Māori performance.

Inspired by his experience with world-leading aerial theatre company De La Guarda, Gray has recreated an immersive world for the omnipresent Kurungaituku. The story follows the journey of young warrior Hatupatu as the mythological part-woman, part-bird – the guardian of the forest – ensnares him in her cave. An extraordinary story of love, betrayal, and sacrifice follows as Hatupatu struggles to fulfil his destiny.

Tānemahuta Gray (Māui – One Man Against The Gods, Tiki Taane Mahuta), also Taki Rua Productions’ Chief Executive, says, “This unique experience elevates, quite literally, a beautiful Māori story which so many in Aotearoa have read from a young age and inserts the audience right inside it. The forests, geysers, and the bird realm are visceral for the audience – the story unfolds above and around them. It is an experience we hope sheds new light on this legendary love story and secures its place in the hearts and minds of New Zealanders long into the future.”

The FNZ season of Hatupatu | Kurungaituku: a forbidden love opens the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, in the festival’s new Tāwhiri Warehouse space, on Tuesday 20 February, and closes in Rotorua on Sunday 17 March. While some seating is available for those who require it, this is a standing experience.

Tickets are on sale now.

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