Cel­e­brat­ing Matari­ki with the best of Maori the­atre and dance, the inau­gur­al Ahi Kaa Fes­ti­val offi­cial­ly opens tonight. In a city where some the­atre prac­ti­tion­ers think it’s okay to use black­face on stage because ‘it’s what the audi­ence of the the­atre form would have expect­ed’ it is wel­come. This fes­ti­val will show off tru­ly inno­v­a­tive work that draws on tra­di­tion to cre­ate some­thing new.

The fes­ti­val is on from 9 June – 11 July 2015.  Shows range from in devel­op­ment, to new works, to return sea­sons of clas­sics, to fam­i­ly friend­ly shows.

Bats The­atre hosts Not in our Neigh­bour­hood by Jamie McCaskill, and 2080 by Aro­ha White.

Te Marae at Te Papa Ton­gare­wa hosts Ngā Pou Wahine by Bri­ar Grace-Smith.

The Han­nah Play­house hosts Dou­ble Dere­licts, pre­sent­ed by the White Face Crew (excel­lent phys­i­cal the­atre for the fam­i­ly), and The Mod­ern Māori Quar­tet. (Here’s the quar­tet singing on TV.) There is a tick­et deal to both shows, and a spe­cial stu­dent deal as well.

Cir­ca The­atre hosts The Beau­ti­ful Ones by Hone Kou­ka.  (I am super excit­ed about this one. The devel­op­ment sea­son com­bined visu­als, live music, and dance, in a sto­ry with epic over­tones.)

Hap­py Matari­ki!