Playwright Hone Tuwhare issued a challenge to his audiences as powerful as the traditional wero when he wrote his play In the Wilderness Without a Hat.
The play, as a form of "theatre marae", shifts between ritual and theatre. And yet as one current performance by Tikipunga High School is makingclear, the process can be fraught.
Head of Maori Te Aomihia Taua-Glassie explains about the community response to the use of a coffin in the third act: "We objected to the use of a coffin on stage. It would be offensive to many in the audience. We replaced the coffin, in the end, with a single light, reminiscent of a spirit."
For Taua-Glassie and others, an object as tapu as a coffin can never truly be simply transformed into a stage prop. It is not that simple.
It is not the first time that the play has met opposition and was, according to Tuwhare, a key reason for the delay in staging the play, written in 1977.
It is a warm, funny and ultimately very human story about restoration and burial. The characters form a diverse group; everyone seems to be there from the kaumatua steeped in religion to the pakeha who has married into the culture. It is a melting pot for different perspectives, a place as one character, Cappie, emphasises that more honours cultural identity than preserves notions of purity: "There's a bit of Irish in me, Scandinavian, a bit of this, and a bit of that - but mostly Maori - in my feelings."
The figures - represented by striking painted cardboard cut-outs - inhabit a space bounded by stunning kowhaiwhai patterns.
Saturated earth colours and rich brown hues abound. Head of Art Marie Ringrose, who has overseen the backdrop, says the staging is the combined effort from her painting classes and the technology department.
Director Maran Sutherlin may well have had this cast created especially for her class of 29 students.
It is a case of art imitating life.
In the Wilderness Without a Hat - September 22-23, 7pm, Tikipunga High School auditorium.
