October 24, 2017
Showband style recreated for Te Po
Actor Rawiri Paratene says taking on the songs of some of Maori music’s biggest stars is a challenge akin to the big Shakespearean roles he’s known for.
Paratene gets to croon his way through some Maori anthems as part of a short Auckland return season Te Po.
The premise of the play is a detective, a priest and a blind man coming together to look for missing playwright Bruce Mason.
Paratene aims to recreate some of the magic singers like the late Prince Tui Teka and Eddie Low achieve on stage.
"I’ve been watching and listening to a lot of Tui Teka and he is the man. I think he had a jazz background because he could just slide all over the place in terms of where he is placing his voice and yet he is absolutely on the beat. End Eddie Low is just so loose and so wild," he says.
Te Po opens at Q Theatre tomorrow and runs until November 4.
RAWIRI PARATENE FULL INTERVIEW
Copyright © 2017, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com