“We have taken them to several places (which are recreated in the play) so that they are able to connect and in a way nourish their creativity and their performance.”
She felt drawn to the script.
Ngapaki said the tales of Turanganui a Kiwa helped her reconnect with the whenua.
“There is this one key character called Miri in the play and the thing I most love about her is exploring the different shades of her life, from being a young wahine to a frail elderly woman, and the different facets of the community over the period of her character arc.”
Another story explored in the play is the events during and after the siege of Ngatapa in 1869 during Te Kooti’s presence on the East Coast.
“The story wasn’t known until Witi (Ihimaera) wrote about it,” said Ngapaki. “A number of local Maori were killed on a little hilltop and we as tangata whenua did not find it out until the early 2000s. It was probably the last battle before everything turned around.”
Other stories of wahine which intrigued Nagapaki include the fictionalised tale of a tipuna named Riripeti.
“The interesting thing about her was that she had both Maori and Pakeha blood — knowing how to walk in both worlds and not being fully accepted by her own people.
“This explores the constant conflict between the two cultures. The fact that she identified with both realms and moved forward is inspirational.”
A scene telling of the warrior Tiri’s part in the siege of Ngatapa Ngapaki finds “quite exhilarating”.
“There is a climactic point when the colonial forces were following them and pelting them at different points. The locals make a decision to go up to the hilltop and made a resolution to step off a cliff instead of being shot.
“I loved their resolve within themselves to acknowledge death with integrity and dignity. At the core of it is Tiri, a purposeful wahine who knew what was to happen to her people and boldly looked after them. To see them through their deaths is emotional and inspiring.”
Talking about her journey into theatre, Ngapaki says she always has been a “daydreamer” from day one.
It wasn’t until after high school that she started to think about drama school.
She says although her late father would have wanted her to be an accountant, her mother was aware of her interest in the arts.
Her directorial debut came in 2008 for Takirua Productions in Wellington.
“The role was to create a 40-minute piece of theatre in te reo Māori based on James Waerea’s children’s book ‘Pukunui’,” she said.
■ The first performance of Witi’s Wahine, by the late Nancy Brunning, was at the inaugural Tairawhiti Arts Festival in 2019.
It is based on four female characters from the writings of Witi Ihimaera. It includes characters from his works such as The Parihaka Woman, Pounamu Pounamu and The Matriarch.
Ngapaki Moetara (Waikato, Ngati Maniapoto) appeared in that first production.
Witi’s Wahine, ASB Waterfront Theatre, May 2-12.
