Huia Max

TUAKIRITEA is a devised theatre show developed by emerging theatre practitioners Huia Max and Reon Bell. It centres honest and courageous kōrero around what it means to be Māori in modern day Aotearoa.

Huia’s moemoeā…

TUAKIRITEA uses personal and fictional elements to tell a story that explores and deconstructs the often complicated and challenging experiences that define a modern Māori identity. By rangatahi Māori, for rangatahi Māori.

We want to engage audiences from all backgrounds in discussions around the show’s subjects of identity, indigeneity and rangatahi Māori experiences in the 21st century. We want to investigate the common uncomfortable questions young Māori are often unable to talk about, including the stereotypes, privilege, and disconnection to identity in relation to physical appearance.

This funding will be used for our second go at this kaupapa. this time we hope to workshop our already in-development show with experienced Māori artists to develop and enrich our ideas and the key points of our kōrero we want to use the show to convey. We want to stage our show again for a season in the Waikato reigon within 2026, with the possibility of creating a tourable version of the show, enabling us to take it to schools/community centres across the motu in order to engage with our desired Rangatahi audience.