A Māori and Pasifika all-women writers collective Maranga Mai is set to premiere a five-part audio drama series later this month.
Set to release on the 26th of November on Kia Mau’s digital platform Moana Nui, the audio series features works from five writers; Tina McNicholas, Sandra Tisam, Sherilee Kahui, Teherenui Koteka and Stevie Greeks.
They each share stories of navigating life’s challenges, using full audio production with elements of storytelling, music and soundscape to pull the listeners into the worlds they’ve created.
The series was initially set to be a part of the international indigenous playwriting festival Breaking Ground during the 2020 lockdown. In 2021, they enlisted a cast of over 20 actors in Wellington to voice the characters and bring the stories to life.
Created by Tawata Productions, the collective was established in 2017 to support the development of Māori and Pasifika female writers in poetry, short stories, fiction and plays, with a special focus on supporting mothers, community leaders, tertiary students and full-time workers, who at night and on weekends, are also committed writers.
The five-part series includes the stories below:
Mira by Sandra Tisam:
“Mira and her friends lie forgotten in a tin shed, reliving past tragedies while getting on each other’s nerves. The return of a familiar face brings them back together again to continue on their journey.”
Whakaaraara by Sherilee Kahui:
“Having a baby changes everything for a woman. Your body is no longer your own, your time is not your own and your priorities shift almost instantly. These changes inevitably ripple out to your relationships. Whakaaraara shows how gentle ripples can be the early warning signs of an incoming tsunami, as one new mum struggles to stay afloat.”
Grown by Stevie Greeks:
“Ruby returns to her childhood home after the death of her estranged mother. Her hikoi takes her to a place between memory, dream and the stories her heart yearns to tell.”
Te Maunga, Te Toa e Manakia by Teherenui Koteka:
“In a world estranged from indigenous values, an offer arises forcing two cousins to decide the fate of their ancestral home.”
Unlocked by Tina McNicholas:
“Lilieta, aka Lilly, is near the end of her full and extraordinary life. Her once strong, infallible, memory has now succumbed to bouts of dementia, causing her to periodically lose her bearings. One day a sudden encounter with an object from her past unexpectedly transports her back to happier times when she was transforming the lives of others in her care.”
The five part series will be available for streaming from November 26th as part of the digital theatre Moana Nui.
