I was fortunate to see "Waenga" at Toi Aro Art Centre in Wellington in June and if you haven’t seen it yet, I urge you to go. It closes at Toi Aro on Saturday 5 July before heading off on a tour to 20 venues throughout the lower North Island until 5 August.

Produced by Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu in partnership with Hurō Productions, "Waenga" is much more than a theatre production. It’s an invitation into the space between us – the liminal place where listening becomes deeper than words and where people can encounter one another with openness and humanity.

Jim Moriarty (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kahungungu, Rangitane, Scots, Italian) co-founded Te Rākau Hua O Te Wao Tapu Trust in 1989 and has been creating theatre as a tool for change since then.

Built on the concept of “theatre marae”, it uses Māori storytelling, music and dance to help people heal from trauma and injustice. Shows often take place inside communities, schools and prisons instead of traditional theatres, providing opportunities for performers and audiences to kōrero after the performance: unpack, discuss and connect in a safe space.

Right now, Jim and Regan Taylor are co-directing "Waenga", written by Hariata Moriarty and Tamati Moriarty (also in the lead roles). Jim and Te Rākau Hua have spent decades creating and refining theatre marae, making work that honours not only the stories being told but also the people gathered to receive them.

A space where people feel welcomed, seen and held

For me, what makes "Waenga" so powerful is the extraordinary care given to the relationship between performer and audience. Through genuine manaaki, they create a space where people feel welcomed, seen and held.

That invisible space between stage and audience becomes the performance's greatest strength, reminding us that some of the most important conversations happen not through persuasion but through shared human experience.

On Te Rakau’s website, Jim asks: “In today's volatile political climate, this play is a chance to ask – how do I make my own voice count? How do I make my vote count?”

Creators Hariata and Tamati Moriarty developed "Waenga" through workshops with senior Māori students at Wellington secondary schools. “The show was created so that rangatahi Māori could see their voices and their experiences told on the stage,” they say.

Originally, they performed "Waenga" as a two-hander where it played to sell-out audiences at the Kia Mau Festival in 2025. This work has been developed into a theatre marae production with a cast of ten characters.

Now, Hariata and Tamati have adapted the play for radio. You can hear them talk about the process on RNZ’s Culture 101 programme and also listen to the play.