March 01, 2024
Reo circus opens arts festival
Te Rēhia/Te Pou Theatre is promising something special with tonight’s New Zealand premiere of Te Tangi a te Tūī.
The reo Maori circus piece was developed by the west Auckland Māori theatre troupe and the Dust Palace Circus Company along with Canada’s Cultch theatre for a festival in Vancouver.
Co-writer and performer Amber Curreen, says it’s been four years in development, with funding support from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and Creative New Zealand.
It combines the power of live drama with the visceral impact of Cirque du Soleil-style circus in a allegorical tale in which he voice of the tui becomes a symbol for the loss of language.
“It talks about change of reo and I draw on stories from my tupuna, from my whakapapa and experience of my kids now and my hopes for my kids now and how awesome our rangatahi are at forwarding te reo Māori,” Curreen says.
Te Tangi a te Tūī starts tonight at Te Pou in Henderson and runs until March 10, with an audio-described performance for visually impaired audiences next Friday and a post performance Q&A next Saturday.
Tickets are available for the shows on the Auckland Arts Festival site: https://www.aaf.co.nz/event/te-tangi-a-te-tūī