A Maori version of a Shakespeare play being performed at the Globe in London is just one example of the role theatre can play in fostering te reo, writes Dionne Christian.
When William Shakespeare wrote the oft-quoted line "All the world's a stage . . ." some time around 1599, he understandably had no idea just how big the world actually was.
Should some sort of scientific boffinry allow him to rise from his grave for his 448th birthday tomorrow, he'd discover his plays being performed at a reconstructed Globe Theatre by actors from countries the Western world didn't even know about when he was writing.
That universal appeal is on show at the six-week Globe to Globe festival, launched yesterday, where 37 international companies present one of Shakespeare's 37 plays in their own language including Arabic, British Sign Language, Gujarati, Hebrew, Korean, Japanese, Swahili and Urdu, and Othello is being performed in hip-hop. Adding its voice to the global chorus, and making history, is Maori. When they step out on stage, the members of Ngakau Toa will become the first New Zealand theatre company invited to perform at The Globe.
What the audience will experience is a unique rendition of Troilus and Cressida, a tale from the Trojan wars, interpreted for an Elizabethan audience by Shakespeare and now translated - with judicious editing of the original text - by Te Haumihiata Mason into te reo. Director Rachel House has infused it with traditional Maori arts and cultural elements: haka, waiata, mau rakau (weapons) and taonga puoro (musical instruments). If that's not enough to make an international audience sit up and take notice, then the scantily clad and intricately tattooed male warrior characters, in costumes designed by Shona Tawhiao to make use of traditional weaving techniques, might.
Those who have seen the te reo version say it breathes fresh life into the play and is delivered with such power by the cast, a mix of veteran performers and newcomers, that it transcends all language barriers. Shakespeare is a great storyteller and, with skill and sensitivity, Mason and House have added fresh drama and fervour to the play. Performances at the New Zealand International Arts Festival in Wellington and a four-day Auckland season had theatre-goers leaping to their feet at the end of each two-hour show to give the 17-strong cast standing ovations. Everyone laughed at the jokes, clapped when the two star- crossed lovers got it on and then gasped at the heroine's apparent betrayal of her young lover.
Tickets to tomorrow's and Tuesday night's shows have sold fast, helped by the Kiwi expat community. The success the te reo Troilus and Cressida has already enjoyed here indicates perhaps Ngakau Toa is navigating a previously unexplored - at least by mainstream theatre - avenue for promoting Maori language and in the process making our performing arts culture more distinctive.
We're already seeing more locally written plays being developed, produced and watched than ever before and Maori playwrights such as Briar Grace- Smith, Hone Kouka and Albert Belz have brought an important dimension to the theatre, highlighting indigenous experiences, histories and perspectives. There's clearly an interest in Maori stories given that three of our most successful films are Once Were Warriors, Whale Rider and Boy.
But although there has been a spattering of te reo in many of those productions, it's still a rare thing to hear large chunks of dialogue in Maori. Te reo still needs all the help it can get to survive. According to the 2006 Census, 157,100 people (or 4 per cent of the population) can speak Maori . Most - 84 per cent - were Maori and, in total, almost one- quarter of Maori - or 131,600 people - said they could hold a conversation in te reo about everyday things. The Waitangi Tribunal's latest report, Ko Aotearoa Tenei , recommended the Maori Language Commission be given more powers and a minister for te reo be appointed.
Theatre is all about telling stories and every culture does that. Going on to a marae for a formal occasion and listening to the speakers is theatrical in itself while the language spoken by orators is like listening to poetry.
As actor-producer Tainui Tukiwaho points out, the fact that an opera is in Italian doesn't deter aficionados nor do many movie- goers complain about subtitled films. So why should it be any different for a stage production in te reo?
"Maori is a beautiful language, it's poetic and rich just like the so- called 'romance languages'," says Tukiwaho, best known for his portrayal of comedian Billy T James.
"The only difference is that te reo doesn't have the same prestige of those languages - yet." Tukiwaho says there's been no research on to how audiences react to hearing te reo on stage, or indeed if it could promote wider recognition and greater use. His theatre company, SmackBang, has funding from Te Taura Whiri i te reo Maori (the Maori Language Commission) to create a theatre show aimed at five to eight-year- olds with the express purpose of promoting the use of the language; The bilingual performance, Ruia Te Kakano, applies the same principles as the kids' TV cartoon Dora the Explorer where Spanish words and phrases are incorporated into a predominantly English language show. The aim is to get the littlies using a few words and to grow interest from there so they build up a more extensive vocabulary. After the show's performances - initially at 10 schools in and around Auckland - teachers will be surveyed to find out whether the kids have started using more te reo.
We already have a national Maori theatre company, Wellington-based Taki Rua Productions, which annually tours original work in 100 per cent te reo. One of Taki Rua's aims is to improve access to te reo and help all New Zealanders "feel comfortable in taking ownership" of the language.
Each show is original, devised and written to reflect contemporary interests and concerns, and artistic director James Ashcroft says they aim to appeal to a wide section of a diverse community. It's been touring Maori language shows for 16 years, but largely confined to marae, kohanga reo, kura kaupapa (Maori immersion schools), art galleries and community centres.
Ashcroft says it would be nice to hear more Te Reo at mainstream theatres. He says Troilus and Cressida is a jewel in the crown when it comes to promoting te reo on stage.
Actor and executive producer Rawiri Paratene, who played Koro in Whale Rider, says Troilus and Cressida strikes a chord with most people no matter what language they speak: two tribes are at war, with two lovers caught in the crossfire and there isn't going to be a happy ever after.
Paratene performed Troilus and Cressida at drama school in 1972 against the backdrop of the Vietnam War. He says current global conflicts make it just as relevant as ever. Paratene, who took part in the Globe Theatre's International Actors Fellowship in 2007 and then performed there in Romeo and Juliet two years later, has long wanted to perform Shakespeare in te reo.
Why Shakespeare? Because, he says, the language is so rich and poetic - a lot like Maori.
Don Selwyn's te reo film version of The Maori Merchant of Venice proved it could be done, so Paratene was keen to see if it would work well in theatre.
"I imagined it; I dreamed of it and I imagined that the world would have changed and that the Maori language would take its place in the world."
To learn more about the play, or to make a donation to the Go Global fund, see themaoritroilusand cressida.com.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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