A mesmerising fusion of circus spectacle and theatrical artistry, performed entirely in te reo Māori, will embark on its first-ever Aotearoa tour in Tauranga later this year.
Baycourt Community & Arts Centre has announced it will host the first two performances in a tour of Te Tangi a Te Tūī before the production continues to four other North Island centres.
“This show is an exciting step forward in ensuring our arts centre can meet the needs of our entire community,” says Baycourt manager Reena Snook. “The fact that all the dialogue is in te reo is incredibly important, but the show remains wonderfully accessible thanks to its powerful visual storytelling, blending cirque and theatre in a truly captivating way.
“We’re proud to bring this show to Tauranga and enable our community to experience such a high-quality production without the need to travel elsewhere.”
Reena describes the performance as an evocative story that explores themes of love, loss, and the connection between Māori and the natural world.
The show, inspired by the native Tūī’s song and how it has evolved over centuries, was a collaboration between master storytellers and kaupapa Māori performing arts company, Te Pou Theatre, and world-class cirque theatre company The Dust Palace.
With only two exclusive performances, tickets are expected to sell fast, so Reena recommends people visit the Baycourt website and join the waitlist to receive email updates and first access to tickets when sales open to the public on 19 May.
The two Tauranga performances take place in Baycourt’s Addison Theatre on 6 August (public performance), followed by a free schools’ matinee, on 7 August
Te Tangi a Te Tūī then travels to Rotorua (10 & 11 August), New Plymouth (14 & 15 August) and Whangarei (19 & 20 August), before finishing in Kerikeri (22 & 23 August).
Te Tangi a Te Tūī is proudly presented by Te Pou Theatre, The Dust Palace, Performing Arts Network New Zealand, and Baycourt Community & Arts Centre.
For more information and to sign up to the waitlist, click here.
