About
Born from the theatre marae traditions of Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu, Hurō Productions is a kaupapa Māori driven production company founded in 2025 by siblings Hariata Moriarty and Tamati Moriarty. Hurō creates Indigenous youth led theatre, music and film based in Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington New Zealand Aotearoa.
.
Hurō Productions is a hapori, a collective, a movement to create from a place of joy as an act of resistance.
It is a rangatahi led initiative with a mokopuna first approach, and cemented with the understanding that we are our ancestors' wildest dreams.
Their first creative production was the play Waenga in 2025.
In early 2026, Hurō produced a short film Kikokiko with the support of the New Zealand Film Commission. Written by Jorja Heta and Matariki Bennett, and directed Matariki Bennett Kikokiko follows the journey of a whānau of wāhine Māori navigating the passing of one of their daughters. It is in post-production.
Waenga
Waenga was developed in partnership with Te Rākau following research with young people. The play unfolds through Connie, played by Hariata, a young wahine caught in the crossfire of chasing her dreams and an unexplainable visit to a place she doesn't belong, and Grayson, played by Tamati, a junior defence lawyer navigating the complexities of the legal system while trying to uphold his identity and mana motuhake.
Waenga premiered in the Kia Mau Festival 2025 with Hariarat and Tamati joined on-stage by musician Ramka Tamaki. Since then it has taken various shapes including a Te Rākau version with school students from Porirua, a radio play (to be produced by Radio New Zealand) and a national schools tour produced by Taki Rua Productions.
In 2026 Te Rākau are going to develop an ensemble version with 10 performers layering music, dance and polictis into this powerful crictally acclaimed and relevant story.
Ngā Manu Pīrere Award 2025
Hariata and Tamati Moriarty received this award from Creative New Zealand in recognition of their continued development of their artistry, commitment to upholding tikanga and kaupapa Māori within their creative processes, and their belief in creativity as an integral part of self expression.
