KEY POINTS:
New Zealanders are used to seeing other people's cultures on stage. Foreign classics and contemporary masterpieces traditionally dominate our theatres, while we attend - in huge numbers - shows such as Riverdance, which kick off entire cultural renaissances for their motherlands.
Now local myths and legends take centre stage in our own theatrical epic. After critically acclaimed and sold-out shows in Wellington and Christchurch, Maui - One Man Against the Gods arrives in Auckland this week.
With a cast of 20, it combines Western theatre techniques, Maori kapa haka, contemporary dance, aerial performance (think Cirque du Soleil) and Te Reo. It tells the story of Maui, the charismatic demigod of ancient Polynesian oral tradition.
An outcast young warrior, saved by a miracle at birth and raised among the gods, Maui grows up away from his family and the norms of his people. When he returns to the natural world, he rails against social convention.
His adventures include capturing the sun and fishing up the North Island (Te-ika-a-Maui) from the bottom of the sea - but even Maui has limits and the goddess of darkness waits for him to discover this.
It is essentially a rites-of-passage story with universal appeal and parallels in ancient myths from around the globe. Little wonder, then, that the producers hope an American agent will secure Maui performance dates later this year in the United States.
The producers themselves state: "Maui's feats rival those of Hercules, the most comparable figure in Greek mythology."
In one sense, they can thank Hercules - the made-in-New-Zealand TV show - for providing them with actor Tamati Patuwai who plays Maui.
Known for small-screen roles in Shortland Street and Mercy Peak, Patuwai says the stunt work he did on the Hercules spin-off series Xena Warrior Princess gave him the confidence for the aerial feats required in Maui.
Dancer and artistic director Tanemahuta Gray recognised from an early age the legend's potential for development into a theatrical spectacle.
Raised on the stories, Gray was awestruck by the amazing illustrations in the picture books he read. He was reminded of these when, in his early 20s, a knee injury postponed his dance career.
"I was searching for something else to do with my life," he recalls. "I didn't think university was the right place for me; I wanted to do something to connect with my Maori heritage.
"I thought, 'I go to where people begin to learn' so I went to kohanga reo as a volunteer worker. I was reading the stories again, every day."
Gray stayed on at the kohanga, eventually making his way on to the payroll, but continued to produce and choreograph his own shows. His knee recovered, he headed to London to audition for West End musicals.
"I gave myself six months and I wasn't getting anywhere. Just before my deadline was up, I auditioned for a show called De La Guarda, and signed my contract to join the day my six months were up."
Gray was one of 14 chosen from 1800 contenders to join the Argentinian show, regarded as one of the world's leading physical theatre and aerial performance companies.
He spent five years in London, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Berlin, Seoul, Sydney and Las Vegas travelling, performing and dreaming of how he could create a show which would allow Maori culture to soar.
Along with friends Jamie Ogilvie and Janine Gainsford, Gray began developing the story and, in 2001, staged a performance presentation at the New Zealand High Commission in London for Carla van Zon, artistic director of the NZ International Festival of the Arts.
A 40-minute work-in-progress, Te Ao Maarama followed, with 11 performances at the 2003 NZ Fringe Festival. They starred Toni Huata (who plays Hine Nui Te Po), who was recruited in London.
The first person to sing in Maori at the legendary Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, Huata has also performed backing vocals for the Neville Brothers and recorded her own albums. "Tanemahuta came to Ronnie Scott's and heard me sing," she says. "He invited us to go to Amsterdam to see his show, De La Guarda, so we went and thought it was amazing. We were blown away by the whole production; we had never seen anything like it.
"Then he asked if I would be interested in auditioning for a show he wanted to get off the ground which was going to feature aerial theatre and Maori stories. A Maori story using all the elements of the arts - they don't come along too often."
Hoisted off the ground in a harness which constricts her groin, a corset which pushes up her rib cage and a 19m long cape which needs four people to manoeuvre it, Huata says she has had to learn new ways to sing.
Maui, say those involved, has been very much a learning experience. Reworked and rewritten, the full-length show was performed in Wellington in 2005.
Auckland dates were planned but no suitable venue to match with dates, could be found. It travelled to Christchurch instead where, says leading man Patuwai, the audiences were rapturous.
Gray says he has learned to recruit and surround himself with experts to oversee the various facets of the production; it is simply too big for one person to run alone.
The crew includes his sister, top choreographer Merenia Gray, assistant director Geoff Pinfield to oversee the acting, internationally renowned composer Gareth Farr and kapa haka specialists Kereama Te Ua and Kura Te Ua. A climbing team and specialist aerial performers are among the cast.
Gray admits to taking the best of what he has seen in hundreds of international shows to craft and refine Maui. What many of those shows have lacked, he believes, is a strong story so a dramaturge has been an essential element in the production.
A strong story, too, will lift Maui beyond "a cultural performance", giving it greater international appeal. "Why shouldn't New Zealand produce something which starts a phenomenon like Riverdance? These stories are a treasure that we have been gifted."
On Stage
* What: Maui - One man against the Gods
* Where and when: Civic Theatre, Apr 18-29; Founder's Theatre, Hamilton, May 2-6
