Uplifting new play gives voice to prisoner’s perspective on the Treaty

A protest at Te Papa Museum last year involved spray paint and the defacement of text using an angle grinder on the Treaty of Waitangi exhibition. Photo / National Iwi Chairs Forum

A new play – ration the Queen’s Veges – about how an abseiling activist who painted over a Treaty of Waitangi exhibition inspired prison inmates to reveal personal insights into their lives, will debut next year at Te Pou Theatre as part of Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival.

The uplifting one-man play portrays the different realities of prison life by allowing those removed from society to have their say on the Treaty while also opening up about their personal stories.

Award winning theatre maker, Tainui Tukiwaho.

Award-winning theatre maker, Tainui Tukiwaho, will direct. He will also co-write with Te Wehi Ratana, whose real-life experience was the inspiration for the play. Stage and TV actor Ngahiriwa Rauhina has been cast in the play.

“ration the Queen’s Veges will allow us to gain an understanding of the day-to-day grind of being in prison,” says Te Wehi. “It shows the potential of all of the people who are behind bars in Aotearoa.”

Te Wehi Ratana - Mokopuna Decisions

This is Te Wehi Ratana, a member of Te Waka Hourua and one of the artists who improved Te Papa's exhibit "Signs of a Nation". Listen to his reasoning in this exchange with police. He's appearing in the Wellington District Court at 2:45pm TODAY - please head there to show solidarity if you can. The police have charged him with intentional damage, which carries a maximum of 7 years prison, and obstructing police, which carries a maximum of three months prison, or up to $2,000. The police are opposing bail, with the judge deciding whether to award bail at today's hearing. 🔷Take action🔷 email enquiries@tepapa.govt.nz and ask them to tell the police to drop the charges against Te Waka Hourua artists. ➖This art installation comes after years of attempts to have Te Papa change the exhibit, from Te Waka Hourua, treaty education groups, professors and other leading Te Tiriti experts. At its very inception, Te Papa ignored their own Māori advisory board, instead choosing to pursue this misleading depiction for 25 years. ➖The artwork remains up to the enjoyment and benefit of the public. It is encouraging a necessary national conversation about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the way the English draft has been used to colonise Aotearoa. Many members of the public are learning for the first time that the English draft is not a translation of Te Tiriti and has no legal standing. ➖These brave individuals made sure safety was paramount during installation, with hazard tape, hazard boards, additional safety lines and spare climbers. They should be celebrated for their sacrifices #tetiriti #mokopunadecisions

Posted by ALL on Wednesday 13 December 2023

In December 2023, as part of the group Te Waka Hourua, Te Wehi abseiled from the roof of Te Papa and painted over the Treaty of Waitangi exhibition to read: “no. Her Majesty the Queen of England is the alien. ration the Queen’s veges”.

This incident provoked strong opinions across Aotearoa. Some sang the group’s praises while others called for blood. Although others from the group were charged, Te Wehi was the only member to receive prison time.

Sentenced to 48 hours in Rimutaka Prison, Te Wehi was given a month’s worth of nicotine gum even though he didn’t smoke. Learning from his cellmate Brian that the gum was valuable currency, they decided to offer pieces of gum to inmates in exchange for letters expressing how the men felt about Te Wehi painting over the Treaty.

What came next, no one could predict. The inmates saw this as a platform to express themselves. Many of the letters written by the inmates became intimate testimonies about their inner thoughts, feelings, personal desires and hopes and dreams for the future.

Te Wehi says the letters provided a unique insight into prison life in Aotearoa and it inspired him, and the creatives at Te Pou Theatre and Ko.Ko.Ko Productions, to create this new work.

“When you are on the outside, you’re not exposed to this experience. But when you’re in there, and get to talk to the inmates, you get to find out what kind of people they are, and you see their humanity,” he says.

Actor Ngahiriwa Rauhina has been cast in the play.

Tukiwaho says the play illustrates the impact political action can have on those who are normally shunned in our society.

“Te Wehi found a safe space for inmates to express and share their feelings through ingenuity and genuine connection. ration the Queen’s Veges is a story about the quiet voice of defiance that still burns within us even when we are silenced.”

ration the Queen’s Veges: Te Pou Theatre, 2 Mount Lebanon Lane, Henderson, Tāmaki Makaurau from March 14-23, 2025.