Sketches of wa¯ hine’s emotional journey
Ilona Hanne
■ No hea koe? Both you and performer Mycah Keall whakapapa to Taranaki — can you give us a bit of detail?
Absolutely — here is Mycah’s pepeha: Ko Taranaki te mounga. Ko Matenehunehu te awa. Ko Kurahaupo¯ te waka. Ko Puniho te marae. Ko Nga¯ Mahanga a Tairi te hapu¯ . Ko Tarananki te iwi. Ko Mycah Keall to¯ ku ingoa
And mine: Ko Taranaki te mounga. Ko Pungaereere te awa. Ko Kurahaupo¯ te waka. Ko Te Po¯ taka te marae. Ko Nga¯ ti Haupoto te hapu¯ . Ko Tarananki te iwi. Ko Sherilee Kahui to¯ ku ingoa.
■ Does your connection to Taranaki make bringing Mokomoko to Taranaki something particularly special or important?
My Taranakitanga is central to who I am, and at times it’s hard not to be physically based there. It’s exciting to be able to come home and share my art and reflections with our ahi ka¯ , the ones that keep our home fires burning. It’s also a bit anxiety inducing — the show can be confronting in parts, and I hope that we’ve crafted it well enough that people understand the intention and it resonates with them.
■ You also have European ancestry and have travelled a fair bit — do you think all those cultures influence your writing?
Given Aotearoa New Zealand was colonised by the English, I’ve grown up being strongly influenced by aspects of British culture, especially its comedy. I’m drawn to the more absurd vignette-based shows and really love a joyful, home-made aesthetic. I like the permission the form gives you to play with how you engage with the audience; these are all things I’m exploring in Mokomoko.
■ What made you decide theatre was the career for you?
My mum got me into my first community theatre show when I was 6. It was a fun, low-cost activity that provided an outlet for my energy. I fell in love with being on stage. I loved going to rehearsals and singing and trying to dance. I loved the lights and the set and being backstage and
It’s a case of coming home for Sherilee Kahui (Taranaki iwi), the creator of Mokomoko — which will be performed by Mycah Keall, who also has a Taranaki connection, at the TSB Showplace as part of the Tarankai Arts Festival Trust’s Reimagine Festival in October. Stratford Press editor caught up with Sherilee to find out a little bit more.
seeing how everything worked. So that was my focus, all through school.
■ So from school, you went on to study drama and acting?
My goal was to study acting at drama school, but back then you couldn’t audition until you were 21, I think. So I decided to study theatre at Victoria University (VUW) in the meantime. I’m so glad I did because I think the things I learned there were very different to what you get exposed to at Toi Whakaari. It formed a strong basis for my understanding of the different forms of theatre and what is possible. It also located these forms in their historical and political contexts, so I learned about how art influences and challenges social norms, learnings that still inform my work both in theatre and behaviour change communications today.
■ Victoria University has been in the news recently with cuts in various departments including theatre hasn’t it?
It’s hard to see the cuts that are happening to the theatre department at VUW. It’s so short-sighted. It’s so frustrating that people love living in a vibrant, artistic city and we all literally consume art every day, but refuse to see the connection between both things and that “successful” artists can’t exist in a vacuum. They are supported, influenced, and nurtured by a broader creative community that needs to be thriving to produce those standout examples. If we don’t value grassroots arts, who is going to teach our little ones? Provide inexpensive extracurricular activities? Nurture our interests and inspire us?
■ As well as qualifications in theatre, you have gone on to get a master’s in directing — what is it about directing you love?
I love being able to realise the vision of something that’s in my head and see if it works the way I’d hoped. I’m excited because for this season of Mokomoko, we have Erina Daniels directing. This is the first time I have handed a show over to another director to lead. It’s awesome seeing the different things that Erina draws out of the script — things that I’d never even considered. It brings a new life and depth to the story.
■ What type of show is Mokomoko?
Mokomoko is a black comedy. We use moments of levity and irreverence to engage the audience in heavier content.
■ How did Mokomoko evolve or come about? Was it a story you always wanted to tell, or has it developed from other work over the years?
Mokomoko has developed out of a solo show, (A Smidge of) Pidge,
which I first performed in 2017. Pidge
was a black comedy about a pigeon’s existential crisis. It was a first attempt at exploring the themes of identity and belonging, which we see in Mokomoko. There are some vignettes from Pidge that have survived, albeit recontextualised.
■ In a nutshell, and with no spoilers of course — what is Mokomoko about?
Mokomoko is about the intersection between colonisation and violence experienced by wa¯ hine Ma¯ ori and how this can impact our sense of identity and belonging. It uses one woman’s story to explore some of the wider societal impacts. It’s not a linear story, it’s more of a collection of sketches that take us on an emotional journey.
■ The show is unapologetically focused on the wa¯ hine Ma¯ ori experience — so who should see it and what message(s) should people take away from it?
I don’t want to tell people how to feel or what they should take away from it because everyone is going to have their own journey with the show. What I have noticed, though, is that some wa¯ hine Ma¯ ori have felt affirmed and empowered. Some feel deeply moved. Sometimes there are a lot of tears, sometimes not. Sometimes wa¯ hine are fired up and inspired. Some of our ta¯ ne have been reflective and have questions about their role in supporting the wa¯ hine in their lives. Some people have started thinking about things that they have never even considered before, even if those things are part of the everyday experience of people they love. Tauiwi, Pa¯ keha¯ in particular, have expressed feeling inspired to do their own internal work to better show up as tangata Tiriti — people who are committed to being active Treaty partners.
■ The show covers some pretty tough themes doesn’t it — is it very emotional?
While the show deals with themes of violence, it doesn’t go into any specifics or descriptions of personal events. It can be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster — I hope that people can feel a sense of release after, whether they have enjoyed laughing at the silliness of being talked to by a lizard who is discovering who they are, or whether they have had a tangi because they see aspects of their experience reflected to them. I look forward to being under the mounga together soon.
If we don’t value grassroots arts, who is going to teach our little ones? Provide inexpensive extracurricular activities? Nurture our interests and inspire us?