Kōpū

Written by Tuakoi Ohia

Ko taku puke huruhuru tēnā e kitea nei i ō niho? Mihi mai!

Ko tā te wahine i te ao e mōhio nei tātou, ōna taera maha, ōna tōranga katoa e rangatira ai te wahine i tana tū. Ka whakaaturia e tēnei kāhui whetū matarau, pūkengarau.

Ka whiria ngātahitia e ngā wahine o KŌPŪ te pūoro mataora, te whakaari, te toikupu me te poi e hua ai he whakaaturanga mō tō rātou ake wahinetanga, e pukukata ana, e pono pai ana, otirā, e tukuna herekoretia ana ki tā rātou i pai ai. Whakatutukihia ana te pōhiri a te whakaari nei, e hanga whakatoi ana, me te aha, e tuku ana i ngā waiata a ētahi wāhine rangatahi Māori, nō rātou e takahi ana i tēnei ao, ko ngā puke huruhuru kei mua, ko ngā tapuwae o ngā nana hanariki o te kāuta e whāia ana.

Tēnā… wetekina ngā here o te ao tāmarutāne, ka waiho i te mana wahine auraki ki te tatau, whakapiri mai ki tēnei whakaaturanga pūoro e whakanui ai tātou i te ira wahine ō roto i a tātou katoa!

About the work

Is that my nipple hair between your teeth? You’re welcome.

She is Kōpū i te ao, Parearau i te pō and if her teke could talk it would sound like this.

KŌPŪ calls you in to a cheeky ballad of show sharing the song of our young wāhine Māori as they navigate this world, hairy nipples first, in the footsteps of our naughty nannies from the kauta.

Our kāhui whetū of multi-talented performers weave live music, performance, poetry, and poi to share a hilarious honest and no hold barred account of their experiences of wāhinetanga now; The day and night duality of being fiercely everything at once.

So, kindly unpeg yourself from the patriarchy, check your white feminism at the door and join us in a hearty musical celebration of the ira Wāhine in us all.

Kōpū has been commissioned by Auckland Arts Festival and is Development at Te Pou Theatre in 2022.