Play strikes chord far and wide with indigenous New Zealand take on an enduring theme
Boy meets girl, boy loses girl but gets the chance to win her back: it's a plot found at the heart of some of the most enduring stories, perhaps because thwarted love is such a common experience.
From a small marae in Taranaki to an 800-seat venue at the Maoli Arts Festival in Hawaii, He Reo Aroha has struck a chord with its indigenous New Zealand take on the theme.
Described by director Hone Kouka as a "small play with a big heart", it is a boutique Maori musical which has over the past two years been performed in Australia, Canada and Hawaii. Now it arrives in Auckland as part of the annual Going West Festival, which turns 15 this year.
Written by Miria George and Jamie McCaskill, with original waiata by Hone Hurihanganui, He Reo Aroha is a love story about childhood sweethearts Kaia (Kali Kopae) and Pascoe (McCaskill), each taken by destiny to different parts of the world.
Kaia chooses to travel to New York in search of a career that will offer prestige and privilege; Pascoe remains in the fishing village of Ti Kapa to follow in his fisherman father's footsteps.
When life fails to deliver what they sought, Kaia and Pascoe discover their mutual love of music will reunite them for the lives they were meant to live.
Kouka, winner of a Bruce Mason Playwright Award and numerous Chapman Tripp Theatre gongs, says McCaskill and Kopae approached him about working with his Tawata Productions company.
"It was to be a vehicle for their talents as well as a Maori work about being in love, a really positive story because we have had some very negative ones. It started as a simple story about people in love combined with gorgeous music."
McCaskill says he and George wanted to show the world that Maori can love, rather than just being political. When the play was first performed for a test audience in 2008, McCaskill says the team received much-needed and often candid feedback. Based on some comments that characters were too stereotypical and the story needed strengthening, they made changes and took the revised version to the Honouring Theatre Festival in New Zealand that year.
Because they wanted it to tour, the challenge was to keep the set and props simple but able to invoke a range of landscapes and situations. Kouka says it was decided to use just two chairs and three guitars as props and rely on McCaskill and Kopae to do the rest.
"We use two chairs as a fishing boat. It's a simple thing but it really works. It was nice for us to be able to say, 'Let's forget about the bells and whistles and create theatre'."
The project was no doubt helped by the fact McCaskill grew up working on fishing boats in Thames before training to be an actor and was able to draw on his experiences.
The chance to travel widely arose after He Reo Aroha was performed at Honouring Theatre, an international indigenous event started in 2006 to bring together performers from Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Invitations to events such as the Hawaiian festival followed.
"I was worried when we went to Hawaii and we were performing in an 800-seat theatre because I thought our show needed a smaller, more intimate venue," says McCaskill. "The audience reaction was huge and it's just gotten better and better. It's a sign of how accessible He Reo Aroha is and the fact that the characters are really real."
McCaskill and Kouka say it may soon be time to hand the show over to others to continue as they begin work on new projects - but not before a performance in Thames on Monday - the first time McCaskill has performed in his home town.
"But then I am happy for someone else to take it on. I might sneak into the audience and watch it because I've never seen one of my own plays, because I am always in them."
What: He Reo Aroha
Where: Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre,
When: August 25-28
