Te Tangi a Te Tūī
E kore a muri e hokia
“visually and emotionally powerful” - Stir Vancouver
An epic tale of love, loss and hope, weaving te reo Māori and cirque theatre
By Tainui Tukiwaho and Amber Curreen. A collaboration between Te Pou Theatre, Te Rēhia Theatre and The Dust Palace
UPCOMING DATES
4 - 7 June, 2026: National Arts Centre, Ottawa
“Groundbreaking, majestic and spectacular” - Theatreview
He karanga nō te kainga. Pulling us heart first back to the ngāhere.
The Tūī soaks up the world around it and responds in song. Though beautiful, its tune is now a faint echo of what it once was when Aotearoa was blanketed in the ngāhere, flutes of patupaiarehe filled the trees and Māori alone walked gently upon their mother.
Te Tangi a Te Tūī invites you to experience an enchanting and empowering Māori cirque theatre work about adaptation and authenticity.This collaboration between kaupapa Māori theatre companies, Te Rēhia Theatre, Te Pou Theatre and circus theatre company, The Dust Palace, is an evocative narrative of love and loss between Māori and the natural world in the face of colonial impact.
After sell out seasons in Vancouver and around Aotearoa, Te Tangi a Te Tūī is set to tour to the National Arts Centre, Ottawa in June 2026.
PAST PRESENTATIONS
2025
Kerikeri, 22 - 23 August - Turner Centre
Whangārei, 19 - 20 August - Forum North
Taranaki, 14 - 15 August - TSB Showplace
Rotorua, 10-11 August - Sir Howard Morrison Centre
Tauranga, 6-7 August - Baycourt Theatre
2024
Aotearoa / New Zealand Premiere: Te Pou Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, 1 - 10 March
2023
World Premiere: The Cultch, Vancouver, 19 - 29 October
Documentary film: Transform Cabaret Festival, Vancouver, May
Excerpt: Sir Howard Morrison Gala, Rotorua, 16 -18 February
Meet the team - some of Aotearoa’s finest cirque performers, actors, writers and creatives
Who we are
Te Pakiwaitara
The Story
Tūī soaks up the world around it & responds in song. Though beautiful, his tune now is a faint echo of what it once was when Aotearoa was blanketed in the ngāhere, flutes of patupaiarehe filled the trees & Māori alone walked gently upon their mother.
This new work brings together Kaupapa Māori & cirque theatre to create an evocative narrative of love & loss in the face of colonial impact.
Ma te huruhuru te manu ka rere.
Adorn the bird with feathers so it can fly.
Te Mahere
The Timeline
First imagined in 2011 by Te Rēhia & Dust Palace founders, this work has been waiting for its moment while both companies developed in their respective genres, honed their artistic voices and built national & international relationships.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to The Cultch, Urban Ink, Creative New Zealand and Manatū Taonga for their support of the research, development and creation of this work
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Te Ahurei Toi O Tāmaki, PANNZ, Te Mātāwai, Foundation North, TECT, Far North District Council, Pub Charities and Creative Henderson-Massy for supporting our Aotearoa tours in 2024-2025
