COMPELLING BUT NERVE-RACKING

The music sets the tone for this excellent, troubling Taki Rua revival, even before all the audience has arrived. The melody is jaunty, but the lyrics jar with that bubbliness: "I don't know what to do / I feel so helpless." The sharp shadows of palisades in the gloom add to the foreboding – as does the deliberate ricketiness of Daniel Williams' intriguing set; later on, its rafts of sticks seem to threaten lone performer Te Kohe Tuhaka with impalement at every turn.

This play sits within the Maori family heavy-drama genre; however, the external crisis is wrought not by dealings with Pakeha, but with war. The title character is a Vietnam veteran in a boiler suit, weaving his own history through with certain Ngati Kahungunu myths - stories of twisted families, tricksters and Hine-nui-te-po. [More] 
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