DEFIES GRAVITY IN EVERY SENSE |
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) Director . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tanemahuta Gray Choreographer . . . . . . . Merenia Gray Assistant Director . . . . .Geoff Pinfield Climbing Director . . . . . Nick Creech Kapa haka . . . . . . . . . . . Tanemahuta Gray, Kereama Te Ua, Kura Te Ua, Tuirina Wehi at Westpac St James, Wellington From 9 May 2007 to 13 May 2007 Reviewed by John Smythe, 10 May 2007 |
I said it was ready for the world two years ago (National Business Review, 3 June 2005). "As epic theatrical spectacle," I wrote, "Maui - One Man Against the Gods is phenomenal. Riveting, amusing and awesome, it is also as profoundly insightful as any ancient rites-of-passage myth about an adventurous demi-god confronting the forces of darkness and light. Yet its distinctively Māori pulse, look and feel, rooted in tradition but expressed with contemporary skills and technological flair, bring a new vitality to this very old tale."
The same is true only more so now. The 12-part storyline, published in the programme, is also offered as a free hand-out to all ticket-holders and yes, it's a good idea to swot up on it before the show starts. The addition of English-language narration - or rather deep-felt retrospection from a father asking himself, and us, if he might have been able to better divert Maui from the path he chose - richly intoned by Te Kohe Tuhaka's Tama-nui-te-Ra, adds much to the accessibility of the story.
In a world forever seeking the balance between individual and community, where most religions feed on the human hunger for immortality, whole 'civilisations' have been built and glorified through humankind's battles to conquer the forces of nature (and even better, align with them), and medical science keeps finding new ways for us to cheat death for longer, the story of Maui cannot help but resonate.
By utilising kapa haka, karanga, waiata, patu, taiaha and poi to communicate its classical themes through the international language of physical theatre, Maui refreshes these ancient truths in ways that should add the attraction of the exotic for audiences around the world.
Director Tanemahuta Gray - the modern Maui who gets it right because he listens, responds, aligns and realigns his team - claims in a recent interview that the humour is visual. "Slapstick." (Think of those crazy Japanese comedy shows that totally eschew English language.) Even so, it is still possible that people will think they are missing out because they can't understand the reo that accompanies it. One young woman I spoke to afterwards was delighted that, "as a little whitey girl" she knew what "iti" meant, so got the gag where one of the brother looks up Maui's skirt and says it's tiny. But, as Gray says, you get that from the visual action too: it's universal humour.
After Maui fishes up his 'ika nui' (the North Island), the brothers lie lifeless on the shore. "Ka mate, ka mate," they groan then realise they're alive after all. "Ka ora," they breathe in growing delight. "Ka ora!" This gag may seem like one only Kiwis will get but given the universal recognition of our Ka Mate haka, and the number of times its meaning has been written up, even this is likely to travel.
As I also wrote in '05: "Gareth Farr's resonant music, recorded with the traditional instrumental skills of Richard Nunns, evokes the elemental forces that provoke the drama. Gillie Coxill's costume designs reject the flax skirt and woven bodice look for a contemporary Pacifica feel ..." and either I've come round to them or she has modified what I saw as "ancient Aztec, Egyptian, Greek and Roman influences" that sometimes jarred. Winiata Tapsell's tiki heads and other costume carvings teeter on the brink between authentic cultural artefact and tourism kitsch.
"Tolis Papazoglou's versatile set, edged with a stylised hint of fortified pa, features a vast sloped stage that transforms into steps," I wrote, "allows for pits of fire and accommodates land, sea and sky with an effortless flow." On opening night in Wellington a broken hydraulic hoist meant the slope was unable to open as steps, robbing us of some visual spectacle including a light-created filleting of the 'ika nui' effect (representing the bothers' carving up of the new land). It is a testament to the strength of the core story that the show held together without it.
"A hectare (I'm told) of fabric is ingeniously used to trap the children [between earth and sky], enhance the aerial illusions of flight and floatation, and create oceans, above and below the surface, giant jellyfish, fire, a huge entwined rope and Hine's massive black skirt. Martyn Roberts' superb lighting completes the illusions of primal forces engaging with vulnerable and fallible humanity."
As Maui, Tamati Patuwai has an extraordinary capacity to communicate, through body language, his mood, emotions and states of being, be they playful, curious, fearful, arrogant, imperious, ecstatic ... Playing his older brothers as a mini gang, Matu Ngaropo, Jacob Tamaiparea, Jason Te Patu and Kereama Te Ua excel equally in their intimidatory posturing and their clowning about.
Te Kohe Tuhaka brings human sensibilities to the sun god Ra and adoptive father of Maui in ways that have particular resonance, given the recent very public debate on how we raise and discipline children. Simply clad to anchor the real-world dimension of the story, Kirsten Te Rito's mother of five sons, Taranga, shows strength and humour in raising her boys, and heartfelt humanity in dealing with their fates. Meanwhile Toni Huata's inexorable Hine-nui-te-Po looms and recedes with ominous power, both vocal and visual.
The singing and chanting from principles and ensemble cast alike vibrate to the very marrow, not only thanks to the sound technology of Glen Ruske: Redd Acoustics.
Different people will respond according to their particular interests and cultural perspectives. For me, apart from the rich story content, abiding memories include the white sprites flying and whirling through the air within the auditorium, eerie aerial spectres catching light in the blackness beyond the stage, the stunning underwater sequence, the invigorating waka-on-the-ocean and fishing scene, and the way the golden light of fire so subtly yet graphically morphs to represent blood.
The immediate quest is to tour the show through the USA next year. The behind-the-scenes story of 'one show out to conquer the world' exemplifies the value of aligning to what's so, rather than battling against the 'gods'. Beyond the artistic qualities and production values, what will get this show there is the reduced company size (37, including 21 cast of which 18 perform each show; 4 climbers to counter-balance the aerialists; mechanists, operators and backstage crew) and their capacity to pack the show into each new venue in a day and a half. And Maui has now achieved that goal.
Maui - One Man Against the Gods defies gravity in every sense of the term. Every New Zealander, immigrant and visitor to our shores should see this show where they can, then alert anyone they know in any part of the world it may travel to.
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See also reviews by:
Lynn Freeman (Capital Times);
Melody Nixon (The Lumiere Reader);
Kate Ward-Smythe
Nik Smythe