John G. Davies' Te Tupua - The Goblin - returns to Auckland, sparks cultural discussion

The season of Te Tupua - The Goblin Costume is on in Auckland.

• John G. Davies’ one-man show tours Tāmaki Makaurau through March and April.
• Indigenous theatre, encompassing diverse traditions and cultures, is thriving in Aotearoa with productions like The Visitors and Gudirr Gudirr, showcasing both Māori and Samoan stories
• Theatre should able to address bicultural issues, like the contentious Treaty Principles Bill.

OPINION

Many Māori theatre artists have made good use of the stage.

The plays of Hone Kouka and Briar Grace-Smith, Witi Ihimaera, and Pasifika writers such as Oscar Kightley, Tusiata Avia and The Conch, have made the theatre a place to explore and reveal struggles and insights of their constituent communities.

Such practitioners do not labour beneath the burden of the European tradition, for they have simply taken a form and used to it discuss themselves, what else would they do? Whereas Pākehā theatre continues to measure itself alongside the gold standard; i.e. from England.

In much of Pākehā society this self-referencing alongside the gold standard, means our own story becomes sought for in the archetypical, rather than the specifics of our circumstance.

Pākehā theatre is encumbered with this legacy, Pasifika and Māori theatre does not operate under this burden.

At a time when our community longs for a theatre that brings the struggles of today to the public arena our playwrights are absent; the theatre is struggling to survive.

David Seymour's Treaty Principles Bill should be discussed in theatre, says playwright John G. Davies.

The Treaty Principles Bill could be seen as a desire to discuss, understand and embrace our bicultural relationship; but the bill itself and the manner of it being foisted upon us has been clumsy and embarrassing.

The theatre is the true home for such discussion. Beneath the cloak of fiction, characters stand and deliver alternative points of view and the debate can rage on the stage.

When the audience depart they have questions, and must consider their own stance.

Theatre lowers the heat but highlights the expression and allows alternate points of view to safely sit alongside one another.

We are the descendants of those who understood the role of theatre in civic society. One went to the theatre to consider ethics; the stories posited ethical dilemmas and moral conundrums which a community must debate. We repeatedly see international plays celebrated in New Zealand in this function.

John G. Davies' Te Tupua - The Goblin.

An example is Prima Facie which deals with gender inequality and male presumption in a confronting and insightful way. This play is rightfully enjoying a number of successful seasons nationwide.

The playwright, Suzie Miller, is Australian, and she has expertly enlivened the function of theatre; beneath the cloak of fiction truth stands for consideration.

The theatre is where we should be discussing the Treaty, but where are the mainstream New Zealand plays that enter into this arena of debate with willingness and honesty?

In the usual Pākehā fashion we retreat into silence and when the voice does emerge it is seen as extreme and divisive.

Perhaps our practitioners are afraid to be labelled, to be considered racist, or insensitive. This pressure to conform means the theatre has become a place where you investigate who you are, rather than explore the circumstances around you.

A group of community practitioners at The Dargaville Little Theatre have written a musical about the horrific goings-on at the now defunct Tokanui psychiatric hospital.

Hundreds of people died there, many of them laid into unmarked graves. The willingness of Pākehā society to throw aside those who were not normal is astounding and atrocious.

Playwright John G. Davies.

Finally, here in the theatre, the story is being told. This coming August, this company accepts an invitation and presents its play at an amateur theatre festival in Monaco.

This is an admirable accomplishment, and highlights the appeal of writing our own plays, about us.

The theatre is the place where things can be considered away from the heat and egoism of politics.

It is time for our practitioners to stand up and explore our bicultural heritage on the stage.