Young Māori playwrights delve into the worlds of UFOs and professional wrestling on stage at Te Pou Theatre

From professional wrestling to a closeted gay man struggling with his fascination with aliens, stories written by rangatahi Māori will flourish at Te Pou Theatre, the West Auckland hub for kaupapa Māori performing arts.

Four young Māori playwrights will be guided through professional mentorship to help them stage their work.

Reon Bell, known for playing the young Wolf West in Westside, is sharing his play titled Concerning the UFO Sighting Outside Mt Roskill, Auckland.

It’s the 1980s in Auckland’s Mt Roskill, and a young office worker is struggling with his growing belief in aliens and his life as a closeted gay man.

Through a distinct 80s’ tone inspired by old-school sci-fi films, Bell tells a queer story set in Aotearoa through unconventional theatrical paths.

Bell, also known as WYNONA, has been creating ambient and experimental music which he now uses in his theatre work.

After his brother introduced an album named A.I.A Alien Observer, Bell was inspired to create an album using Mt Roskill, his home neighbourhood, as an artistic setting for moody soundscapes and drones.

“Eventually, I found the more I looked into what aliens could represent as a metaphor, and the sort of artistic potential of drawing a thematic line between aliens and the queer experience, the more it made sense as a theatre show with an actual story.”

Bell devised the show with a frequent collaborator, Sean Rivera. Their show was performed at Basement Theatre earlier in the year as part of the Auckland Pride Festival and at BATS in Wellington for Kia Mau, a contemporary Indigenous arts festival.

“I worked with Te Pou way back when I was 14 years old for their show, The Great American Scream, written by Albert Belz. It was the first professional theatre show I had ever done, as well as the first theatre show that was kaupapa Māori.

“I learnt a lot in that process, and it greatly improved my work ethic and my ambitions as a young actor.”

The 23-year-old is passionate about kaupapa Māori and kaupapa takatāpui and continues to work towards his aspirations in the theatre, screen and music industry.

Te Pou Theatre producer Maioha Allen says the Rangatahi Season is giving the future storytellers of Māori theatre a platform to develop their craft.

“The importance of supporting our rangatahi, our emerging artists, is to ensure toi Māori will always have a place and vehicle to convey and portray stories by Māori, for Māori,” he said.

“Young Māori voices need to be heard, and we want to be able to support them on their journey.”

Tyler Wilson-Kōkiri wrote Wrestling with Wregret, inspired by his love for professional wrestling.

As a graduate of Toi Whakaari, Wilson-Kōkiri has been heavily involved with Te Pou Theatre as an actor, but this will be his first time writing and staging his own work.

“Since I graduated from Toi Whakaari, Te Pou has nurtured and fostered my voice and have looked after and kept an eye on me,” he said.

He says most people associate Māori theatre with trauma and identity-focused plays and that the raft of different topics explored during the Rangatahi Season shows how Māori theatre is emerging.

“It’s important that the voices of rangatahi are coming through,” he said.

Two other plays, Limited Time Only by Hone Nanda Taukiri, and Ngā Reta by Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana will also be staged and performed in November.

One explores the world of commercialism and another, about a young urban Māori trying to connect with her culture.

Te Pou Theatre’s Rangatahi Season runs from November 7 – December 2 at Te Pou Theatre in Auckland.