Hinepau

Bea Joblin

E te whaea e takoto nei, e te matua e tū nei ki runga, tēnā korua. E te maunga ko Matairangi, e te moana ko Te Whanga-nui-ā-Tara e hora atu ra, tēnā kōrua. E ngā kaiauaha katoa na koutou a Hinepau i tito, i hanga, tēnā koutou. E te whānau katoa i tae mai kia panui nei, tēnā koutou katoa!

Ko au he kaiako ki rō puna reo, nō reira e mohio ana au i ngā mea whakakā hikaka mā ngā tamaiti. I ahu mai ki te whakaari a Hinepau mau ana i nga karu tamaiti, a, i whai ngahau, whai matauranga, whai manaru i reira. Ki ahau nei he mea nui  te āta mohio a ngā kaiauaha mā tamariki ki ngā mahi me ngā hiahia o ngā tamaiti, kia aro ai te whakaari ki a rātou.  Tau kē koutou te turupa a Hinepau!

I am a teacher in Māori Immersion Early Childhood Education, and I feel like I know what gets kids excited about stories. I went to Hinepau trying to view it from a kids perspective and found entertainment, education and enchantment. I think it’s really important for performers and creators involved in children's theatre to have a careful understanding of what kids enjoy, how they work and what is relevant to them. The team around Hinepau really nail this.

Ko te pakiwaitara ko Hinepau he kōrero e pā ana ki ngā take hirahira mā ngā tamariki (mā ngā pākeke hoki!) kia ako. Ko te pūmautanga, ko te tiaki taiao, ko te mana-motuhake (ahakoa te rerekē, te kaha!), ko te whanaungatanga, ko te mana wahine hoki. He maha ngā take nui e rarangahia hei hanga i te whāriki ahurei o tēnei kōrero.
Na, he kaupapa nui mā ngā kaiauaha kia whakawhiti i te kōrero-ō-mua nei hei whakaari mā ngā tamariki o naienei, no te nui o ēnei kaupapa.

The story of Hinepau contains some big and important themes for kids (and adults) to connect with. Sustainability, caring for our environment, being yourself (even if you are too much for everyone else), the love of family and of course mana wahine; the amazing female power of magical Hinepau! There are a lot of important ideas that have been woven together to create the beautiful whāriki of this work. It is a big task for the creatives involved to translate this traditional story into a relevant piece of theatre for today’s kids, especially because these themes have so much importance and relevance.

Ko te whakatakoto o ēnei kaupapa nui te mahi matatau a Jamie McCaskill me tōna turupa, ā, i rere matatau rawa te awa-whakaaro .  

Ki ahau nei, he tika rawa, he miharo tonu, te whakatautika o te wairua rorohau, katakata, whakatoi, me te wairua tūturu, te wairua taumaha,  e pā ana ki te kaupapa.  I ahu rere mai te wairua o te whanaungatanga kei waenganui i ngā kaiwhakaari, he mea hirahira rawa tēnei whanaungatanga tūturu kia mau ai te ngākau o te mahi, kia hono atu ngā kaimatakitaki ki te kōrero. He kaha, he koa, he manawanui te mahi o ngā hautipua nei, ko Carrie Green, rātou ko Ngākopa Volkerling, ko Tom Knowles ko Erroll Anderson, e kawe ana rātou i te mana o te pakiwaitara nei, me te pukapuka i ahu mai i reira, me te mahi o ngā kaiauaha katoa i hanga i tēnei, ngā mihi ki a koutou.

Laying out these big kaupapa was the skillful work of Jamie McCaskill and his team, and in my opinion - they nailed it.

The balance between humour and gravitas is perfect and appropriate for the largeness of the kaupapa and the age of the audience. There is a sense of whānau amongst the cast which was essential in allowing the audience to connect deeply with the content. The performances are engaged, committed, sharp and passionate. The talented cast, comprising of Carrie Green, Jean Volkering, Tom Knowles and Erroll Anderson, respect the work and each of the cast commit beautifully to their role in carrying the mana of this story and all the people who have worked on it this far.

Tau mai i te kākanotanga o tēnei mahi he maha ngā tangata pukenga e raranga ana i te mea. I tito te mahi i te tau 2005, nā Rachel House, rātou ko Erina Daniels, ko Maria Walker, ko Stephen Tamarapa me Jamie McCaskil. I tēnei huatanga o te mahi nā Jamie McCaskill i tū hei kaiarahi, i whakahā anō he mauri hou ki roto i tēnei whakaari miharo.

Since the inception of this work as a theatrical piece there have been talented people engaging in it. It was developed in 2005 by Rachel House, Erina Daniels, Maria Walker, Stephen Tamarapa and Jamie McCaskill. In this production Jamie McCaskill returns as a director, to breathe new life into an already concise and colourful script.

He rerehua rawa te papa-whakapakari a Tony De Goldi, te titotanga a Stephen Gallagher me te aro-rama a Jennife Lal, i rongoa kau e au te mauri o tērā maunga me te wairua o te whare e wiri ana me tēnā te pūriri a Maungariri! I rongo hoki au i te rērere, te pioioi a ngā Piwakawaka me te whakatoi a ngā tui, me te aha, me te aha. I tau tonu mai te mauri motuhake o ēnei kinaki, he mea miharo i hangaia e ngā mahere ataahua o ngā rama, ngā rongo me te papa-whakapakari, me ngā hua manarū a Jamie McCaskill hei kaiarahi.

The set designed by Tony De Goldi, Stephen Gallagher’s score and Jannifer Lal’s lighting design are all delightful. I really felt the mauri of the mountain and felt the air in the room trembling with the wrath of Maungariri! I also felt the flitting, dancing fantails,the cheekiness of the tui, and  engaged into all the theatrical additions. These moments were all emphasised by the wonderful sound, lighting and set design.

Ki ahau nei ko tētahi kinaki ngāhau rawa mā ngā tamariki ko te mahi korikori o tēnei whakaari, he mea ngāhau rawa, miharo rawa, pērā i ōu rātou ake takaro auaha. Tērā pea ko ngā waiata o Hinepau  he mea kōhuki mo rātou, pērā i a Frozen!

The physicality used in the show would have gone down an absolute treat with tamaiti, it was reminiscent of their own make believe play. Hinepau’s waiata felt perfectly pitched and somewhat similar to kids favourite thing in the world, Frozen.    

Ki ahau nei he mea tere rawa te whatungarongaro a Hinepau, he mea poto rawa pea te mihi ki a ia mo tāna mahi aroha, ka tika he nui rawa te whakamoemiti mo tōna tino mana, ko te mana ihi o te aroha, me tāna whakaatu aroha ahakoa te kore-aroha i tuku atu ki a ia, tērā pea he take nui mā ngā tamaiti kia mau? Mo tēnei kaitautoko i te mana wahine he pai rawa te tū a Hinepau hei rangatira, ehara i te mate!! Ahahoa kua mohio au he pakiwaitara tēnei, kāore rātou ngā kaiauaha e taea te tini i te kōrero-ō-mua.

The disappearance of Hinepau happened very fast, and the mihi to her for everything she had done went by a little quickly. I felt like some appreciation is necessary for her amazing power, which was the power of love. Including her choices to respond with love to the very unloving actions of her whanau, perhaps an important message for the kids to grasp. For this staunch feminist, I would have liked better to see Hinepau become chief rather than the alternative, but I know this is a pakiwaitara and the creatives involved can’t change it too much.

Ko te tino mihi nāku mo tēnei whakaari ko tēnei, ka haere au ki toku puna reo hei tono mai ki a rātou kia tae mai ngā tamaiti hei matakitaki i a Hinepau, nā te hirahira o ngā kaupapa, me  te ngāhau, te matatau me te miharo kau o te mea mā rātou.

My highest reverence of Hinepau is I will absolutely go into my Puna Reo and suggest that the tamaiti come down and see this show. Due to the importance of the kaupapa and because I think tamariki will find it engaging, slick and just plain awesome.

Mauri ora!

For more information about Hinepau and to book click here: <capitale >