“I am standing in the water so I can touch home…”

Set in the summer of 1965, Waiora follows Hone, who brings his whānau from the East Cape to the South Island in search of a better life. As they gather for a beachside birthday hāngī with their Pākehā guests, buried secrets and cultural tensions rise to the surface. Far away from home, can they find a place to stand together or will they be set adrift in an ocean of change?

Originally premiered 30 years ago by the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, Waiora is a landmark piece of New Zealand theatre, exploring the impact of colonisation, the urban drift, and the tension between past and future. Written and directed by multi-award-winning Hone Kouka MNZM (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu), Waiora is a powerful reflection on family, culture and belonging.

A collaboration between Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Auckland Theatre Company, Tawata Productions and Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival.

“Kei te wai ahau e tū ana, e pāngia ai e au te kāinga”

He mea whakataruna ko te tau 1965, ka whāia a Hone, nōna ka kawe i tōna whānau i te Tai Rāwhiti ki Te Waipounamu ki te kimi oranga. Ka huihui rātou ki tātahi, he huritau, he hāngī te kai, he manuhiri hoa Pākehā, he kupu muna, he tohe ahurei ka puea ake. Matara ana i hō rātou kāinga, kei whea he tūranga mō rātou, kei kawea e ngā hau hurihuri o te wā.

He mea whakarewa e New Zealand International Festival of the Arts 30 tau ki muri, he whakaaturanga hirahira a Waiora nō te ao toi whakaari o Niu Tīreni, ā, he mea matapaki i te tāmi, te rere ā-tāone, me te whakatete o te onamata ki te anamata, nā te toki nei, nā Hone Kouka o Ngāti Porou, Raukawa me Kahungunu. He mana nui tō Waiora, e pā ana ki te whānau, ki te ahurea, me tēnei mea te tūranga waewae.

He mahinga ngātahi nō Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Auckland Theatre Company, Tawata Productions me Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival.

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