Maramataka is a show for you if you want to get a tastefully curated yet raw insight into the thoughts and feelings of young adults. It is a performance made by young people about identity, whakapapa and getting some answers.

The audience is greeted by the characters at the steps near the entrance of the BATS theatre. In a warm welcoming gesture, we are guided upstairs to the stage. We’re singing along to a song we all know too well.

This to me indicates the nature of the show. I enter the room with apprehension. Interactive performances terrify me. I prefer to enjoy a show sitting in the corner sipping my wine.

Once the audience is seated, the warmth of the welcome continues with all the actors/characters giving us their mihi. They introduce themselves, their whakapapa, their occupations and sexual orientations. The audience follows suit with being prompted to say as much or as little as they want to. I quite enjoy this democratic participation, I think to myself in relief.

As a busy thirty-year-old, newly married, a new immigrant to Aotearoa, I rarely have the opportunity to mingle, connect and hear from an age group that is not close to mine. Even with having a younger brother in India who is twenty, I feel a big barrier in getting an insight into his life.

It’s a refreshing change, then, to feel deeply connected to these actors, some more than others, as they talk about understanding, acknowledging, communicating and living their true identity. Their genuine confidence is infectious and inspiring. The stage seems to become a safe space for the actors to represent their true self.

The earnest naivety of the production makes you connect with their point of view and realise a lot of what they think and feel is something we all do at every stage of our lives.

The transitions between phases or acts are effortless. The energy changes as we’re paid a visit by a Nana. A Nana who makes me think of the strong Maori women I know and the mana they bring to the space. By the end of the performance, we have been taught a beautiful waiata and are singing along with the characters. This kind of safe participation makes my heart lighten up.

Although the acting seems a bit exaggerated at the beginning, it quickly fades to the background as you get engrossed in the narrative. The performance taps into the power of well-written dialogues, spoken word and the actors’ confidence. It would have been easy to lose the essence of the diverse character’s narrative by a complex production. The simplicity makes the performance inclusive. So much is conveyed with so little. 

The show comes to an end with a heartfelt whaikōrero. We walk out feeling like we spent a lovely evening listening to the chats usually confined to a group of closely-knit friends: an honest insight into the minds of young adults struggling with self-identity. Kai pai!

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