In December 2023, Te Wehi Ratana abseiled from the roof of Te Papa and painted over a Treaty of Waitangi exhibition to read: “no. Her Majesty the Queen of England is the alien.
In December 2023, Te Wehi Ratana abseiled from the roof of Te Papa and painted over a Treaty of Waitangi exhibition to read: “no. Her Majesty the Queen of England is the alien.
A new play, “ration the Queen’s Veges,” debuts at Te Pou Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau.
Directed by Tainui Tukiwaho, it explores prison life and inmates' perspectives on the Treaty of Waitangi.
It is inspired by Te Wehi Ratana’s activism, when he defaced the Treaty of Waitangi exhibition at Te Papa.
A new play – ration the Queen’s Veges – about an abseiling activist who inspired prison inmates to reveal personal insights will debut at the Te Pou Theatre, west Auckland.
Twelve people were arrested during a protest at Te Papa in 2023, after an exhibition displaying the English version of the Treaty was vandalised with power tools and spray paint.
The protesters were part of a group called Te Waka Hourua.
Ration the Queen’s Veges portrays different realities of prison life and is a voice for those removed from society to have a say on the Treaty, while also opening up with their own personal stories.
Award-winning theatre maker Tainui Tukiwaho directs. He will also co-write with Te Wehi Ratana, whose real-life experience was the inspiration for the play.
Stage and TV actor Ngahiriwa Rauhina has been cast in the play.
“Ration the Queen’s Veges will allow us to gain an understanding of the day-to-day grind of being in prison,” says Ratana.
“It shows the potential of all of the people who are behind bars in Aotearoa.”
In December 2023, as part of the group Te Waka Hourua, Ratana abseiled from the roof of Te Papa and painted over the Treaty of Waitangi exhibition to read: “no. Her Majesty the Queen of England is the alien.
The incident provoked strong opinions across Aotearoa. Some sang the group’s praises while others called for blood.
Although others from the group were charged, Ratana was the only member to receive prison time.
Rimutaka Prison near Wellington. Photo / NZPA
Sentenced to 48 hours in Rimutaka Prison, Ratana was given a month’s worth of nicotine gum even though he didn’t smoke.
Learning from his cellmate Brian that the gum was valuable currency, they decided to offer pieces of gum to inmates in exchange for letters expressing how the men felt about Ratana painting over the Treaty.
The inmates saw this as a platform to express themselves.
Many of the letters written by the inmates became intimate testimonies about their inner thoughts, feelings, personal desires, and hopes and dreams for the future.
Ratana says the letters provided a unique insight into prison life in Aotearoa and it inspired him, and the creatives at Te Pou Theatre and Ko.Ko.Ko Productions, to create this new work.
A protest at Te Papa Museum in Wellington on December 11, 2023 involved spray paint and the defacement of text using an angle grinder.
“When you are on the outside, you’re not exposed to this experience.
“But when you’re in there, and get to talk to the inmates, you get to find out what kind of people they are, and you see their humanity,” he says.
Tukiwaho says the play illustrates the impact political action can have on those who are normally shunned in our society.
“Te Wehi found a safe space for inmates to express and share their feelings through ingenuity and genuine connection. ration the Queen’s Veges is a story about the quiet voice of defiance that still burns within us even when we are silenced,” he says.
ration the Queen’s Veges: Te Pou Theatre, Henderson, March 12-16, 2025.
