Tea and date scones on offer, comfy antique furniture and an old piano adorn the waiting room as jazz plays in the background, transporting us back to Kiwiland in the 1930s. This very English setting, paired with a causal warmth that is distinctly Māori, sets up Ngā Puke (The Hills) to be a thoughtful exploration of how these two cultures collide, in the romance between country boy Waru Thompson and nurse-turned-artist Angela Duncan.

Te Pou Theatre is running the production Ngā Puke (for two more nights only!) as the second instalment of their TORU series, which reimagines some of our best Māori plays. The audience’s ceaseless laughter must please author John Broughton (also watching), as his witty lines are expertly delivered by Jayden Daniels who plays Waru and Esmee Meyers as Angie. 

While the set is bare, Angie is at her easel, painting the landscape, taking us to Waru’s haukāinga, Ngā Puke, where the sheep are escaping, dogs misbehaving and colour of the woolshed is changing in the light. Disrupting her sanctuary, Waru bursts on stage, swearing at his sheep, his dogs and a very surprised Angie. An unpromising beginning to a romantic relationship. 

Typical cheeky Māori boy Waru, also known as No. 8 – as in the Number 8 Wire that fixes everything (just like him apparently) – couldn’t seem more different from Angie who is dressed in pink, fair and blonde. However, when his enormous personality threatens to envelop her, tip toeing on the staggered stage, she meets his ferocity eye-to-eye and easily dissolves his explosive temper with her own teasing and laughter; particularly targeting his nose, which flares when he’s angry.

Waru’s simple wonder at Angie’s painting ability, “to get the cabbage trees looking like cabbage trees,” is countered by his well-informed projections about the World War II, as well as his deep understanding of his whakapapa and role as kaitiaki for Ngā Puke. It is this spark that draws Angie to him and in the first act we see a playful, eager friendship evolve.

As they learn more about each other, this cross cultural exchange highlights Waru’s belonging to the whenua and Angie’s own insecurities about her place and Pākehā heritage. The play accentuates conflicting world views but at the same time offers insight into how two open-minded, pure hearted people can learn from each other and thrive together. Despite their occasional explosive conversations, the audience can’t help but will them to be together.

In the second Act we relive the atrocities of war as Waru, Lieutenant Major of the 28th Māori Battalion, is wounded in hospital and nurse Angie is there, struggling to keep him alive. His dreams of his platoon dying before his eyes, torment him in his coma-like state and Angie is forced to leave him unconscious, not knowing if this is the end or not… 

Comedic and romantic on the surface, this play openly explores biculturalism in a typical easy-going Kiwi manner that makes this play an important text in this country’s theatrical history. While the play was written in 1980, one of the key messages that ‘people may pass, but the land remains’ makes it feel especially relevant today, as we face the impacts of climate change and growing global tensions.

Hilariously funny, engrossing and heart-achingly touching, Ngā Puke is an impressive directorial debut by Cian Elyse White. The genuine chemistry between Daniels and Meyers drew me in from the beginning and made me pray for a harmonious end. Daniels gives a stella performance, captivating the audience with his singing, haka and charisma. If Angie wouldn’t have him I certainly would! 

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

Te Pou – expressed by the home crew as Auckland’s “home of Māori Theatre” presents Nga Puke – The Hills which debuted last night and plays until Saturday 12^th December.

Nga Puke is part of a celebration series produced by Te Pou that ‘dusts off’ Māori theatrical texts, bringing them to our present-day generations.

Once again in true Te Pou style the play itself is not an isolated experience. Trappings of whanaungatanga, welcome and kai are tikanga based moments that add to the manaaki flavours and ambience of the Te Pou theatre event. 

Special mention therefore to the Taumata Kaumātua of Waipareira for the offerings of cheese and date scones. He mihi matakuikui atu ki a koutou e aku Apakura tiaki. 

The very fact that I was an audience member when Nga Puke first showed in 1990 at my high school sets me alight to really investigate Nga Puke’s place in our world today.  

Heoi, ko te tuatahi, ka mihi ake ki te kaitito.

John Broughton must be acknowledged as one of Māoridom’s most important playwrights. In tandem with long time theatre partner Jim Moriarty, Matua John was a central figure in bringing Māori theatre, termed more accurately as Marae Theatre to audiences throughout Aotearoa whānui. Te Rākau Hua o te Wao Tapu, Moriarty’s theatre troupe, travelled extensively to small town community halls and schools to share and gift the theatre world to thousands of New Zealanders and if it wasn’t for the very plays that John crafted – Michael James Manaia, Frankie and Hone, Mana and others – this simply would not have taken place.

My own fire was sparked with Michael James and I also toured with Mana, so my very personal acknowledgements again applaud this great and historically significant career of Matua John. Nō reira e te Ngutu Kaka ka whakamihi atu tēnei ki o tini taonga i whaarikihia nei ki a tātou!

Matua John was in the house last night which was wonderful to see. With a colourful and extensive writing career of over 30 years now it was clear in conversation with him that the gifting of stories, idea’s and vision remains a focal point for him.

Kati ra, ki te whakaari.

Nga Puke is set in the 1930s, in a small farmland community called Nga Puke. Waro Thompson is the hau kāinga and kaitiaki of the farm. He stumbles across Angela, a painter who is painting landscapes on his whenua. This begins a relationship that blossoms with sweet naiveté and endures through a clear cultural divide and even war. 

The set and lighting design, by Amber Molloy and Sam Mence, is highly stylised and simply stated. Stage boxes stacked to illustrate rolling hills and a fairly wide spread of lights are reminiscent of small hall productions. I’m not sure if this is deliberate but it is always nice to see theatre stripped right away leaving the actors and the text to do their work.

Esmee Myers holds her ground distinctly as Angela who is an idealistic and spirited artist. Though Angela has in fact trespassed on the whenua, her charms and determination cool the steamed head of Waru. Myers honours this innocent small town Pākehā girl character with integrity and wit, which is essential in order for this script to really play out.

Jayden Daniels has very strong physical presence and moves nimbly around the stage. Daniels’ Waru is young and hot headed, which gives room to move the arc into a steady character progression. With aroha there are some features in Daniels’ performance that with guidance will develop in time.

Cian Elyse White is a force of a wahine and is known for her own performance work. Ngā Puke is her debut as a director. The very fact that White’s first outing is a tribute to the lineage that she steps into gives great assurance to the future of our Aotearoa theatre world.

The themes and symbols that are presented in Ngā Puke, which were crafted in the late 1980s, really speak of the political and cultural environment of that time. The overt expressions of identity and the determined proclamations of Māori land politics are very thickly demonstrated on a broad canvas. This reflection gives the audience the opportunity to contemplate eras that have now passed and to consider what remains pertinent for today and in times to come.

Tēna ano koutou e Te Pou me o koutou kaha, o koutou māia kia whakapuaki mai i o ēnei whakaaro.  

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer