Presenting... The Tiwhas!

Sean Burnett Dugdale-Martin

Ghostlight Productions show Presenting… The Tiwhas! is an explosive introduction to Jthan Morgan (Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rongowhakaata, Magiagi, Sapapāli’l, Lotofaga), Slay West (Tainui) and Raureti Ormond (Ngāti Tuwharetoa) and their jaw-dropping, stage-owning, face-melting, wig-snatching drag; this takatāpui trio give some of the best energy I’ve ever seen given in a show at Circa. 
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Jthan made the word Tiwha because there is no word for ‘Diva’ in te reo Māori, so designed one by transliteration and portmanteau between Diva and Takatāpui. Jthan also mentions in the programme that they’ve always wanted to be a Beatgirl, which is one of the many aspirations this body of work has excelled in. Incepted during Just A Taste performed at the Gryphon Theatre during Fringe 2021, Presenting… The Tiwhas! was developed and then debuted at BATS During Fringe 2022 with a return season at Roxy Live. Opening this third season of the show, it is impossible not to fall in love with everything about it. 

The show is a jukebox starring The Tiwhas themselves, featuring Kree Matthews (Te āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi), Joe Mara (Tahiti) and accompanied by Hayden Taylor (Tangata Tiriti) on the keyboards and Joshua Tucker (Tangata Tiriti) on Lighting Design, Sound Design and Light Op. This show feels like a really fucking good party. It has lip-syncs, costume changes, kapa haka, performers singing live, dancing, everything you want from a cabaret if it was brought to you by a nightclub. The audience can’t stop cheering. Whenever you thought you could have a rest after a song, the ensemble would make jokes with each other, say a few words about where inspiration came from, and then Britney’s 'Toxic' would come on and perk you right back up onto the edge of your seat again. The show was a lot of high-energy moments, supplemented with well-timed breaks into slow-songs and banter so the audience could recoup some of our strength. I would normally share some standout moments of each of the performers but I don’t want to spoil the surprise of some genuinely incredible moments!
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Let this piece be a testament to the power of kaupapa. The guiding spirit that the contributors put into the production, and the direction they focused that energy on, is fundamental to why this show is such a good time. It was decided that the group would be a celebration and exploration into all things drag, takatāpui, and Māori, which it has done so seductively, but they “most of all wanted to create a sisterhood” as Jthan writes in the programme. Having a rock-solid kaupapa changes the way a body of work takes shape, it influences the rehearsal and devising process, but what does it look like for an audience member? 

Firstly, from a Te Ao Māori perspective, the performance's expectation of audience behaviour differs from what more Western shows expect of their audiences. For tonight, the audience is encouraged to make as much noise as they can- “The louder you are, the better we’ll be!” encourages the programme. This feeling of performer/audience reciprocity over the general audience-sit-and-watch-shush-be-quiet leads to audience celebrations becoming more than a display of gratitude, but something we are rewarded for sharing. What else does an awesome kaupapa look like? It looks like fun. It looks like the keyboardist vibing out SO HARD during EVERY SONG. It looks like performers laughing together. It looks like the Stage Manager (Natasha Thyne, Tangata Tiriti) joining the stage for the bows. It looks like everyone in the crew gets mentioned by name at the end of the show. It looks like performers joking about their mistakes with the audience and not stressing about them. It looks like back-and-forth. It looks like the back up singers being way less back up and taking centre stage every now and then. It looks like The Tiwhas, and this is going to mean a lot to a lot of people. Everything that happens on that stage is a love-letter to something. To Mum-bops, to club bangers, to lip-sync classics, to each other, to the audience, to their worlds. 

Ghostlight Productions should be incredibly proud of the blood, sweat and aroha that must inevitably have gone into such a powerful piece of culture over the past two-years. At the end of the show, Jthan reminisces on how their professional debut was on the Circa 2 stage for Destination Beehive (which was before my time in Wellington, so I’m afraid I can’t make any remarks on how full-circle this moment is from an audience perspective), and now they’re bringing something entirely their own to this very stage, before joking “long may it continue” for Circa to give Jthan opportunities on their stage. I don’t think they’re going to have trouble with that as I am witnessing some of the best theatre I’ve ever seen this country produce. With the right support this cast and crew could be packing out St James’ or Opera House’s and you’d almost certainly see me in the crowd at every tour, snapping, clapping, screaming, waving, just like they told us to.

Presenting… The Tiwhas! is on from tonight until the 11th June as part of Re-Fringe at Circa Theatre. Do not miss your chance to see this before it’s gone because mark my words, it’s got big things ahead. More info here.