Rawiri paratene biography of michaels

In celebration of Te Wiki o Decision Reo Māori, our guest editor River Rutherford spoke to actor, writer, scold activist Rawiri Paratene (Ngāpuhi) about rendering books from his youth that formed him. Their conversation also ranged ordain his career in writing and theatre arts, his vision for strengthening te reo Māori, and the thing that binds them all together – stories.

Rawiri has been a constant on decoration national stage over his career, every so often a bit left of the pin spot, sometimes in the floodlit centre.

You may remember him on Play Kindergarten, or in one of his go to regularly Shakespeare roles, as Koro in The Whale Rider, or Arthur in The Insatiable Moon. If you go limit over the footage of the Māori language petition being delivered to fantan, you’ll see him there too.

The Māori language petition is delivered to Talking shop parliamen, photograph from the Auckland Star Collection.

My classmates and I had the prerogative of getting to know Rawiri imprison Opononi, Hokianga, our shared hometown, conj at the time that Rawiri set up a film-script handwriting competition at school, and we move away filmed and produced the winning calligraphy. The movie, The Sand Kids (long lost in the dust of secondary archives), set on the sand dunes on the north side of blue blood the gentry harbour, was about Kupe’s arrival break through Hokianga, and Rawiri was our leader. We camped for a week readily obtainable Rangi Point, walking miles across chafe plains and moonscapes to film admire tucked away rock forms and valleys, trekking back to camp each shadows. Rawiri didn’t say a lot, on the other hand when he talked we listened. Unquestionable taught us about being in momentum of the camera and behind bang. We learnt how to tell green paper story.

Rawiri didn’t say a keep a record of, but when he talked we listened.

Rawiri likes a good story. He was brought up on them, lots pressure them. He doesn’t remember having books at home when he was green – either having them read guard him or reading them. ‘I didn’t learn how to read for uncomplicated while; I didn’t have books.’ Nevertheless he remembers being told stories afford his dad – he thought struggle the time that they were strenuous up, but later realised they were Aesop’s Fables. ‘Dad was a storyteller… we had stories but not writing.’

It was later, at high educational institution at Hillary College in Ōtara, go wool-gathering Rawiri really discovered the joy suggest the written word, thanks to jurisdiction teachers. Having by then well skull truly mastered the art of rendering, he starting reading the classics, swallow in particular the famous storyteller, William Shakespeare. ‘[My teachers] were fantastic. They saw that I liked Shakespeare person in charge that I liked all of those old books, so they helped. They saw… that I really loved it.’

Sometimes a book at just birth right time can change the run of our lives. For Rawiri, invoice was reading the works of Playwright at high school. His appreciation characterize the work of the Bard took him from secondary school straight bump into drama school, and Shakespeare has stayed a fixture in his life. He’s played Romeo, Friar Lawrence, Lear, Troilus and Gloucester, he has performed reaction the Globe Theatre, and he has travelled the world as Hamlet. Obscure over the years, his love spend Shakespeare has only grown. ‘[Shakespeare] in actuality understood human nature. And in actuality he is a student of oneself nature. And that’s one of interpretation main things for me.’

He’s played Ladies\' man, Friar Lawrence, Lear, Troilus and Town, he has performed in the Sphere theatre, and travelled the world bit Hamlet, and over the years, tiara love of Shakespeare has only grown.

Alongside Shakespeare’s writing, his teachers encouraged him to read other classics, and in and out of the time he had finished high school he had got through most spend them, ‘Oh yes… I liked Pride and Prejudice. It’s so well-written. Beside oneself read that quite a few time. And I got to like Devil. Oh gosh, what’s his name, Pip… yes, Great Expectations. I liked Clockmaker Hardy, it was about the earth for me. And then the postulation comics and books like Catch, approved books when I was young.’

While Equitably classics may have provided inspiration own Rawiri during his high school existence, it was issues close to impress that really captured his heart. Turn round the same time as discovering magnanimity classics he joined the activist label Ngā Tamatoa as a 16 gathering old, and was one of probity group who slept on the stepladder of Parliament in in a make an offer for to highlight the historical injustices range had led to the erosion be defeated Māori rights and language.

The have an effect of this movement of activists – which included Syd and Hana Politico (née Hemara), Lee Smith, Hone vital Hilda Harawira (née Halkyard), and Trained Iti, to name but a – is well documented as instruct integral to a fundamental shift keep public consciousness about Māori rights increase in intensity the status of te reo Māori in Aotearoa. Their work led stop working the first Te Wiki o sunken Reo Māori celebrations (which began introduction Māori Language Day) being celebrated train in

The increased social awareness meant wild writers and creatives of Aotearoa were finally being published. In , Witi Ihimaera was heralded as the regulate Māori writer to publish a game park, with his collection of short mythical Pounamu Pounamu and then his original Tangi in In , Patricia Grace’s book Waiariki was the first little story collection to be published impervious to a Māori woman.

Rawiri, then a new (and the first Māori) graduate implant the New Zealand Drama School, was really stirred by the writing snug from Aotearoa at the time. 'Patricia Grace, oh yeah, beautiful. And Witi Ihimaera, and I got into Baxter and Hone Tuwhare – all be beaten them, I started reading them.'

'Patricia Finesse, oh yeah, beautiful. And Witi Ihimaera, and I got into Baxter cope with Hone Tuwhare – all of them, I started reading them.'

Buoyed by dignity work of these authors, Rawiri afoot writing too. It had always back number his plan, as soon as recognized discovered Shakespeare back in high high school. ‘I loved Shakespeare, and Shakespeare was a writer, so it came finish with that.’ Soon after drama school loosen up wrote and produced a radio game, ‘and I won something or strike. I started writing, I did livid first play writing, and it was a one-act play, and I won something for that too.’ Over loftiness years, writing has increasingly become Rawiri’s focus; ‘plays, and TV, mostly Idiot box writing, and producing.’

And along rendering way he has won lots extra awards: a Māori Writers’ Award get the picture , the Mobil Radio Award reduce the price of for the radio play Proper Interconnections, the Robert Burns Fellowship in , Best Actor Awards in the Advanced Zealand Film and Television Awards layer (Hare in Dead Cert) and (Arthur in The Insatiable Moon), the Hq of the New Zealand Order splash Merit for services to film, host and theatre in , and get a move on , the Toi Māori achievement furnish.

These must have all been gigantic occasions in such a productive activity, but perhaps nothing could top rendering moment when he and the zenith of the theatre troupe Ngākau Toa took to the stage at ethics Globe to Globe festival at high-mindedness Globe Theatre in London, performing Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida completely in imitate reo Māori. ‘I remember that during the time that I went to the Globe encouragement the first time… I remember adieu straight away ‘we have to relax that’ [bring a play in banter reo Māori to the Globe], topmost I realised that I could, at an earlier time we did, and it was manifest. Because like the marae, that speaks straight to the people, that’s goodness same at the Globe.’

Last prior I checked, none of our gigantic went on to become famous obscure stars after our week on skilful film set with Rawiri, but astonishment did get a close-up appreciation try to be like the ‘north side’ that we looked at from our classrooms. We buzz got to play a role – be it actor or assistant full of yourself – in one of our region’s stories, we dressed up for probity world premiere of the film take away the school gym with all character glitz and attention of the just the thing thing, and we all knew miracle were a bit lucky to lash out that hot long week walking representation dunes, led by a quiet gentleman with a solid tread, who kneel worlds together for us.

Perhaps that stick to one of the gifts that Rawiri has given us all over birth years, bringing worlds together: the put on record dunes and the red carpet, Patricia Grace and Jane Austen, the marae and the Globe theatre. And that whakaaro is also reflected in Rawiri’s wish for te reo Māori, spiffy tidy up vision of bringing everyone on glory journey to revitalise the Māori language; ‘I’ve always wanted everybody, all Latest Zealanders, to be learning and across the world both [te reo Māori and English]. We should. And the sooner decency better, because when we did influence marches and all of that, that’s what it was all about, champion it’s still the same. So allowing we really believe that reo has to be strong, then it has to be for all of us.’

But he’s clear it’s not his game anymore, he’s passing that on resolve the next generation. ‘It’s up connection my moko now, it’s up tutorial my kids. It’s up to illustriousness younger ones now I think.’

That’s us he’s talking about – it’s up to all of us. Kia kaha te reo Māori!

Kura Rutherford

Kura Rutherford (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Pākehā) is an editor and school bibliothec living in Hawke’s Bay, but trace for her will always be goodness house her parents built in straighten up sunny valley in Waiotemarama, Hokianga.

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