A strong wāhine fills the stage with her mana and opens the space saying “Leave your white feminism at the door” settling the wairua of the theatre. Kōpū takes the audience on a journey through life, snippets of core memories that are shared within Māori wāhine’s lives. These experiences were conveyed through korēro and waiata with an immensely strong sense of realness. A whanau begins to develop during the show within the audience and cast as watchers are invited up onto the stage to participate in song, and play with poi. By the end of the performance, a resonating essence is left in the theatre that fulfils the souls of the audience. 

It was so powerful and comforting to hear the native tongue of Aotearoa being spoken so seamlessly and was gratifying seeing the language alive and so potent in the show’s content. Even though not being fluent in Te Reo myself, I was still able to capture the essence of the speech through the cast’s performance, so don’t let this aspect deter you away. The purity and projection of the voices energised the space while also implementing important messages for the watchers to think over. Honesty and openness of real life experiences shared by the cast felt like a privilege to be a part of and the solidarity of the rōpū was very clearly shown.

Each and every cast member’s individuality was highlighted, however the unity and strength of their bond as friends was amazing to witness. Brady Peeti, Tuakoi Ohia, Te Huamanuka Luiten Apirana, Ngakirikiri Kershaw, Jane Leonard & Amber Carreen hit the stage with a sparkle of joy to share and a confident presence. The director Amber Carreen even had to make a featured appearance in the show as another cast member had fallen ill! Tuakoi Ohia wrote the show perfectly, transitions through scenes flowed and the performance was packed with relevant content that wāhine will experience at some point in their life.

This whakaari exceeded my expectations and a truly deserved standing ovation was received at the end of the performance. Keep in mind that there are adult themes, coarse language, racial slurs and content that may be offensive to some in the show. If you are looking for a show that surrounds you with a strong manawāhine presence or just wanting a good laugh, I would 100% recommend buying a ticket and heading down to the Hannah’s Playhouse to experience Kōpū!!

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