Photo: Stephen A'Court
For more than three decades, Aotearoa's longest surviving independent Mฤori theatre company has used storytelling to open kลrero about trauma, healing and hope in communities across the motu.
Te Rฤkau Hua o Te Wao Tapu (Te Rฤkau) was established in 1989 as a space for Mฤori performance activists to be "in control of telling their own stories".
Since then, the company has taken theatre beyond traditional stages and into marae, community halls, prisons and youth residences.
Te Rฤkau co-founder and current director Jim Moriarty (Ngฤti Toa Rangatira, Ngฤti Kลata, Ngฤti Kahungunu, Rangitฤne) said they had been committed to telling their people's stories "in a way that opens pathways to wellness".
"I don't think we're doing anything new - we're doing it our way," Moriarty told RNZ.
"We wrap our work in the rituals I grew up with, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, whakapapa, caring for people."
In its early days, Moriarty said Mฤori were not coming to mainstream theatre.
"So we decided to take theatre to our peopleโฆ wh
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