Bard goes Maori at the Globe

Te Haumihiata Mason says Shakespeare's passionate ode could work in any language.

The Bard will become Wiremu Hekepia next week when some of his most beautiful lines come to life in a te reo Maori performance at London's Globe Theatre.

Veteran actor Rawiri Paratene will perform Sonnet 18 as part of a gift from New Zealand's Shakespeare Globe Centre in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the sonnets.

Te Haumihiata Mason, who translated the work, said Shakespeare's passionate ode to a lover could work in any language.

The opening gambit, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day", becomes "Me he rangi ka paruhi i te waru to rite", and is a favourite.

"I think everyone gets that he's on about someone he's deeply in love with'," Ms Mason said. "I must say I'd never met Shakespeare before, but I love language. I haven't stopped smiling since I did it. I just think the whole thing's a bit magic."

Ms Mason said there were not many difficulties translating the piece as Shakespeare's use of metaphors and similes to convey emotion was similar to the way classical Maori used language.

Great Maori orators created concise turns of phrase that were loaded with meaning, and returning to the form of old stories helped her to completethe translation, Ms Mason said.

"Moteatea [songs] are full of lines that talk about the beauty of women. So it was a pleasure to rediscover these stories again and find the most appropriate language to capture the same sentiment [Shakespeare conveyed]."

Maori Language Commission chief executive Huhana Rokx said that while the te reo sonnet was a gift, it was also special for New Zealanders.

"Ultimately this collaborative effort not only celebrates Shakespeare in a culturally unique way but also showcases our own Maori language of love, reintroducing this classical narrative to a new generation of learners and speakers."

LANGUAGE OF LOVE

SONNET 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

ORIORI 18
Me he rangi ka paruhi i te waru to rite?
Me te rearea koe te ngakau mowai.
He hau tukipoho ka rui i te mata o te tau,
Kotia iho ko te hikuwai o te tau.
Kua paka noa a Tama tuhoehoe ki runga,
He kirikowhai ka kirikotea, ka porehu,
Rerehu ana te rerehua o te piwari,
Heipu noa, kua tohua ranei e te wa;
Ko te arawheu i a koe te nunumi,
Te purotu i a koe te riro ke
E kore a Mate e tamarahi he kaewa tau i te po
Kua herea nei koe e nga here o te kupu, ake, ake.
E ha tonu te waha, e kite tonu te karu,
Ka ora tonu tenei, e mauri ora ai koe.