Tawata Productions

Tawata Productions A LEADER IN THE CREATION OF NEW STORIES Tēnā koutou katoa! Kia orana kotou katoatoa! THEATREVIEW

www.tawataproductions.com |

Tawata Productions is a Māori and Cook Islands creative company based in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Specialising in the rigorous development and presentation of new theatre and screen production, Tawata blurs the lines between text, movement and image presenting a dynamic performance experience from Aotearoa to the world beyond. Helmed by Hone Kouka + Mīria George, Tawata presents an annual

programme of stage & screen, as well as Breaking Ground, an international Indigenous playwriting festival. We have performed in national and international festivals throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the South Pacific, and the Hawai’ian Islands. New writing is their “life-blood” and writers their “soul, conscience and heart.” They honour the fundamental purpose of theatre in any healthy society.

It's hard to imagine our creative landscape without you e Carla. A true force of nature who shone the greatest of lights...
03/05/2026

It's hard to imagine our creative landscape without you e Carla.

A true force of nature who shone the greatest of lights upon tangata whenua and tangata moana artists and their stories. An incomparable leader in the weaving of artists, creativity and community, Carla's energy, drive and fierce advocacy sparked a fire for many others to sit alongside her.

The resonance of her leadership can be seen in many throughout our creative landscape. There is art that exists today that was possible because of Carla's vision. The reverberations of her vision will remain with us for generations to come.

E rere ana te mihi arohanui ki a koe e Gregg ko koutou te whānau pani anō hoki. We send our love to Gregg, the van Zon family and to all who loved and adored Carla.

He wahine toa.
He wahine taniwha.

Moe mai rā e te Māreikura.

Open Looks makes her Australian Premiere as part of the Melbourne Women in Film Festival in Naarm this weekend. 2026 mar...
18/03/2026

Open Looks makes her Australian Premiere as part of the Melbourne Women in Film Festival in Naarm this weekend. 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the Melbourne City based film festival. The programme this year includes Open Looks, Kath Akuhata Brown’s Kōkā and the screening of a 4k digital restoration of Jane Campion’s debut feature film Sweetie.

A short film told in English and Cook Islands Māori, Open Looks is a story of love, redemption and basketball. With a cast including Evotia-Rose Araiti, Manea Sua, Robert Ringiao Lloyd, Teremoana Yala, Tina McNicholas and introducing Tearii Pilitati-Firmin.

Featuring Cinematography by Tammy Williams, Edited by Alex Boyd, Composed by Karnan Saba with Sound Design by Trent Williams. Open Looks is co-produced by Hone Kouka, Sharlene George and Karin Williams and Line Produced by Mhairead Connor.

Directed by Mīria George, Open Looks is co-written by Hone Kouka and Mīria George, with te reo o 'Avaiki Nui by Tupu Araiti and Peter Wi******er.

Open Looks is made possible by New Zealand Film Commission‘s He Kauahi Catalyst Premium Short Film Fund and Wellington City Council.

📣 Melbourne Women in Film Festival
🗓️ 5PM Saturday March 21
🎟️ https://www.mwff.org.au/freshly-squeezed-2-26
📍 Cinema Two, ACMI, Naarm, Melbourne, Australia

"Powerful NZ play by Hone Kouka still packs a punch three decades on..."Dalaine Krige, BusinessDeskOur final week at ASB...
16/03/2026

"Powerful NZ play by Hone Kouka still packs a punch three decades on..."

Dalaine Krige, BusinessDesk

Our final week at ASB Waterfront Theatre begins. Have you booked your tickets?

On now until Sunday March 22

⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland
Written & Directed by Hone Kouka

📍ASB Waterfront Theatre
Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland

Images by Roc+ Photography

05/03/2026

There is a sense that awareness demands action. That we carry a responsibility to respond differently moving forward.
Hariata Moriarty, Theatreview

Waiora: Te Ūkaipō sits in conversation with the past, present and the future…
Henrietta Bollinger, Theatreview

⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland
Written & Directed by Hone Kouka

📍ASB Waterfront Theatre
Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Fri 06 Mar - Sun 22 Mar

Filmed & Edited by Timon Zeiss
Sound Composed by Maarire Brunning-Kouka

05/03/2026

I leave feeling grounded, stirred and deeply connected.
It is the kind of theatre that reminds you why storytelling matters.
Hariata Moriarty, Theatreview

This resonates easily in a time of Treaty Principles Bills and Fast Tracking, where Māori connection to this place is being debated as a roadblock to a different kind of progress.
Henrietta Bollinger, Theatreview

⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland
Written & Directed by Hone Kouka

📍ASB Waterfront Theatre
Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Fri 06 Mar - Sun 22 Mar

Filmed & Edited by Timon Zeiss
Sound Composed by Maarire Brunning-Kouka

Kei te wai ahau e tū ana, e pāngia ai e au te kāinga…I am standing in the water so I can touch home…⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō -...
27/02/2026

Kei te wai ahau e tū ana, e pāngia ai e au te kāinga…
I am standing in the water so I can touch home…

⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland
Written & Directed by Hone Kouka

📍Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts
Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington
Fri 27 Feb - Sun 1 Mar

📍Auckland Theatre Company Auckland Arts Festival
Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Fri 06 Mar - Sun 22 Mar

Image Credit Roc Torio of Roc+ Photography

25/02/2026

Bringing the big sister energy. Rongopai plays Amelia / Amiria in Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland.

“Amelia is one of the sisters, she’s the eldest sister.
She’s a bit different to the rest of them.
She kind of feels a bit like an outsider.
She’s got a lot of rage but she’s also got a lot of love.”

Rongopai Tickell (Kai Tahu, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Ati Awa)

Her father Hone is “caught between two worlds. His culture and his role in this new place.”

-Regan Taylor (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pikiao)

Opening in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington on Friday February 27th and then Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland on Saturday March 07th.

⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland
Written & Directed by Hone Kouka

📍Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington
Fri 27 Feb - Sun 1 Mar

📍Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Fri 06 Mar - Sun 22 Mar

Filmed by Timon Zeiss

Amongst our cast of 11, is celebrated stage and screen actor Anatonio Te Maioha, who performed in the original productio...
19/02/2026

Amongst our cast of 11, is celebrated stage and screen actor Anatonio Te Maioha, who performed in the original production that toured Aotearoa and the world 30 years ago. Anatonio, like Hone Hurihanganui, like Hone Kouka connect us all to the first time Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland was welcomed into the world.

This brand new production has been 30 years in the making.

Opening in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington on Friday February 27th and then Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland on Saturday March 07th. Have you booked your tickets?

⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland
Written & Directed by Hone Kouka

📍Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington
Fri 27 Feb - Sun 1 Mar

📍Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Fri 06 Mar - Sun 22 Mar

Image Credit Josiah Wood

There is a brilliant legacy to Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland that connects families, artists, audiences and communitie...
18/02/2026

There is a brilliant legacy to Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland that connects families, artists, audiences and communities all throughout the motu - and throughout the world.

This brand new production has been 30 years in the making. In 2026, you too can be part of that legacy.

Opening in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington on Friday February 27th and then Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland on Saturday March 07th. Have you booked your tickets?

⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland
Written & Directed by Hone Kouka

📍Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington
Fri 27 Feb - Sun 1 Mar

📍Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Fri 06 Mar - Sun 22 Mar

Image Credit Josiah Wood

Every story has a beginning. Not the opening scene or first pages but a moment, a memory or a life experience that the i...
15/02/2026

Every story has a beginning. Not the opening scene or first pages but a moment, a memory or a life experience that the idea for the story was first born within.

For writer Hone Kouka , Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland was born from a time of grief and of great love. The idea for the story began to unfurl following the passing of his own father, Hone Snr.

These family photos share the Kouka family's journey from Te Tairāwhiti to the Deep South, the Catlins, where the family migrated in the early 60s. Hone Snr led a native sawmill in the Catlins, where the Kouka family were one of the few whānau Māori. Hone's mother Sue Wai Te Atatu described their journey as feeling like they had moved to a foreign country.

This landmark production Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland is a story of colonisation and the urban drift of whānau Māori. Waiora Te Ūkaipō asks it's audiences how far would you go for the ones that you love?

These images are shared with permission from the family. Featured here are Hone Kouka Snr, Wai Te Atatu Kouka, Phil Kouka, Boydie Kouka and Rongo King (née Kouka).

⫸ Waiora Te Ūkaipō - The Homeland
Written & Directed by Hone Kouka

📍Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington
Fri 27 Feb - Sun 1 Mar

📍Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
Fri 06 Mar - Sun 22 Mar

Address

Wellington

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