AFTER its success at the International Arts Festival, Mark Twain and Me in Maoriland is back, new and improved. The hard work is far from over, however.
The production from Taki Rua Maori theatre company has been several years in the making. It uses American writer Mark Twain’s little-known visit to New Zealand in 1895 as a catalyst for a storyline that delves into the Maori land wars.
“It is a kernel from our history,” says Taki Rua’s artistic director James Ashcroft. “About 40% of the people I’ve talked to had an inkling that [Twain] came here, but they didn’t know more than that. Mark Twain and Me is not his story, though. He’s the catalyst for the “Me” – It’s a story for Aotearoa. At the heart of the play is this issue between Maori and Pakeha, and Maori and Maori.”
The remarks Twain made about the memorial placed after the battle of Moutua were an inspiration for the story. Twain controversially said that the monument should be blown up, because the battle was won by Maori loyal to the English, and was therefore encouraging other Maori to become traitors.
The theatre company has been busy reworking and refining the production after it’s debut at the Arts Festival.
Changes have been made, and for the upcoming season at Downstage Theatre, the audience will see more about Twain.
“Some people wanted the story to be more about Twain the man. When he came to New Zealand he’d just lost $1million, which is like $1billion now,” says Ashcroft. “He was covered in carbuncles, and was completely run-down. He’d burnt out his creative outlet, and he had his poor wife with him who he’d carted all over the world.”
Those involved with the production have also refined the “Me” in the title – the character Ra, played by Maaka Pohatu.
“Ra is now an old man, whereas he was younger [for the Arts Festival]. The idea of having an old man taking another old man through his past is attractive. I saw Waiting For Godot last night, and the main beauty is we don’t often get to see two old people almost at the end of their road looking back,” Ashcroft says.
Mark Twain and Me is far from a doom-and-gloom fest. It includes comedic singing, actors playing instruments, and translated segments in te reo. Also be prepared for a few shocks, and some un-PC jokes.
“I don’t believe you have to hit people over the head with a sledgehammer to get a message across. [Comedy] can be a great way of saying what everyone else is thinking, or has thought at some stage,” says Ashcroft. “It’s a great thing to hear people after the show arguing fiercely about how much they loved it because it was tackling issues that can’t be tackled by other mediums, and other people completely disagreeing with them.”
Mark Twain and Me in Maoriland, Downstage Theatre, July 14-24.