Ten-year-old Te Rongopai Curreen Tukiwaho leads a cast of nine actors in the play, Hemo is Home. Photo: Supplied
When Auckland went into Covid lockdown in 2021, Auckland actor Tainui Tukiwaho wanted to find a way to keep his five tamariki busy and help them with their written English.
The result was an award-winning play. Hemo is Home will premier next month as the first production to be staged at Te Pou Theatre - a unique home for Māori performing arts.
The ghostly comedy features a number of well-known Māori actors and stars the youngest of the play's creators, 10 year old Te Rongopai Curreen Tukiwaho. Te Rongopai and his mother - producer and actor Amber Curreen - tell Kathryn about the whanau-inspired play and the project to create a purpose-built, kaupapa Māori performing arts facility in west Auckland.
From left: Jade Fernandez, 12, Mia Curreen-Poko, 17, Te Rongopai Curreen Tukiwaho, 10, Tainui Tukiwaho, Letoya Fernandez, 16, Paku Fernandez, 16. Photo: Supplied
