The story of Maui is coming alive in Canterbury primary schools in the coming weeks thanks to a new theatre collaboration.
The Court Theatre along with Y/Not theatre group have teamed Pasifika myths and storytelling with songs for O Le Malaga Fa’aAtua (The Journey of the Gods).
O Le Malaga Fa’aAtua (The Journey of the Gods) Photo: Supplied
The multi-lingual production tells the journey of Maui as he tries to become a fully-fledged god.
Talia-Rae Mavaega says there wasn’t a lot of Pasifika story-telling happening in Canterbury, and that spurred the group on to tell those stories. “We were wondering why there was a huge gap with the Pasifika community and community and the arts world,” she says. “[It’s] a lot to do with accessibility and to make stories that are accessible to our community.”
O Le Malaga Fa’aAtua (The Journey of the Gods) Photo: Supplied
Jake Arona, originally from Auckland but now Christchurch based, says Maui was an obvious choice as he is “pretty much everywhere” in the Pacific. “All pacific stories have old songs that go with them. That’s how stories are remembered,” he says. “We’ve got old folk songs and modernised them.”
There are moments within the show that school children sing with them. “To teach the language - it's really cool,” he says.
Talia-Rae, Jake and Mana Tatafu are taking O Le Malaga Fa’aAtua into Canterbury primary schools through September.
