From top left: Ngākirikiri Kershaw, Tuakoi Ohia, Brady Peeti, Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana, Te Arohanui Korewha, Jane Leonard. Photo: Supplied
Debate over women speaking on the marae has inspired a new theater show.
The show, Kōpū, was developed in response to National MP Judith Collins' criticism of women not being able to speak on the marae.
Seven wāhine Māori actors have joined forces to create and produce the show, directed by Amber Curreen.
Tuakoi Ohia, Jane Leonard, Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana, Brady Peeti, Te Arohanui Korewha and Ngākirikiri Kershaw will weave live music, performance, poetry, and poi to tell a hilarious and honest narrative about wāhine Māori.
Curreen, Ohia, and Tainui Tukiwaho developed the show after seeing what they felt was biased coverage of Collins criticising the Māori protocol of not allowing women to speak on the marae.
The debate was sparked at Waitangi Day in 2021 after then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was the only female political leader allowed a speaking slot.
"We saw that Green MP Marama Davidson's eloquent response was not as well publicised as the voice of a Pākehā woman. We wanted to ask the question- who gets to speak on our behalf and why aren't our wāhine Māori voices taking precedence?" Curreen said.
Kōpū was initially scheduled to play at Auckland Arts Festival in 2022 before being cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
It was developed further over workshops in 2022 and will premiere at Te Pou theatre in May before touring at the Kia Mau Festival in Wellington.
Performer Brady Peeti, is an award-winning whakawahine (trans) actor who has been gracing the stage and screen in Aotearoa for more than ten years, on TV shows like Ahikaaroa and the Australian musical production Jekyll and Hyde.
She said it was a privilege to express her femininity and Māori culture in Kōpū.
"We've created a sisterhood of creatives who are fiercely protective and highly supportive of each other. We will empower wāhine Māori voices by being visible, being loud, telling the truth, even if it makes people uncomfortable," she said.
Writer and performer Tuakoi Ohia said Kōpū was written to inspire others to create work that will empower wāhine Māori.
"I want people to see us multitalented wāhine being whoever we want to be on our stage and feel empowered to do the same in their everyday life," she said.
Kōpū will premiere at Te Pou Theatre in Auckland from 4 - 14 May 2023.