Mentors give marginalised teenagers power to tell their stories

Drama coach/mentor Vinnie Bennett (right) works with Sipa Deidoe, a young man from South Auckland who has decided to tell his story through acting. Photo / Greg Bowker

A team of Kiwi musicians, actors and artists are joining forces with marginalised Auckland teenagers to bring their street stories to the stage.

Manawa Ora: Stories from the Street will run for four nights in October, and a group of high-profile mentors has formed to help guide the teens involved in the creation of the Nga Rangatahi Toa production.

They include award-winning singer Ladi6, comedian Oscar Kightley, rapper Tourettes, Boy star Pana Hema-Taylor, artist Josh Paki and actors Vinnie Bennett, Cian Elyse White and Aroha White.

The show, a live inter-arts performance being held at Auckland's Herald Theatre, is said to include "explosive" tales of street life told by the teenagers, interwoven with music and art.

All the work will be created by the 12 teenagers in the show, under the guise of their mentoring team through workshops beginning on October 3. Final rehearsals begin just a few days before opening night, on October 12.

Manawa Ora is being directed by Curtis Vowell, who made his name with 2013 film Fantail, which was based on a one-woman stage show written by his wife Sophie Henderson.

Nga Rangatahi Toa's programmes are designed to help students excluded from mainstream education. They claim to have a 100 per cent success rate in transforming teenagers into work or study.

Each Manawa Ora show will conclude with a question-and-answer session with the cast. The last season, held in January 2103, was performed in front of full houses.

Theatre preview

What: Manawa Ora: Stories from the Street
When: October 15-18, from 7pm
Where: Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre
Tickets: Available from September 15, via Ticketmaster.