Ahi Kaa Ak Festival

Overview

Inspired by the creative talent that comes out of indigenous playwriting festival Matariki Development Festival, acclaimed playwright Hone Kouka sought out to combine the disciplines of dance and theatre in a new festival celebrating Maori artists.

Taking place over four weeks at the start of the Maori New Year, Matariki, the inaugural Ahi Kaa Ak Festival will bring some of the best contemporary Maori dance and theatre to four theatres in Wellington: BATS, Hannah Playhouse, Circa Theatre and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum.

Highlights of the festival include: Auckland collective White Face Crew, with the latest edition of their hybrid physical theatre work - Double Derelicts; the development season of the indigenous science fiction about climate predictions - 2080; an evening with contemporary crooners The Modern Maori Quartet; a new play by Bruce Mason Award winning playwright Jamie McCaskill – Not In Our Neighbourhood; and Briar Grace-Smith with her award-winning solo show Nga Pou Wahine.