The power in performance: Tackling tough topics through theatre
- TE RĀKAU
- 22 hours ago
- 2 min read
June 15, 2026, Deena Coster, Taranaki Daily News
Using performance as a tool to engage audiences with confronting social issues could be considered part of Hariata Moriarty’s DNA.
As the daughter of acclaimed Māori theatre director Jim Moriarty and playwright Helen Pearse-Otene, she had seen first hand the power the arts had to transmit knowledge, including on tough topics like racism and abuse.
Now, alongside her brother Tamati, Moriarty had created a play called Waenga, which will tour the lower North Island between June and August, following its premiere at the Kia Mau festival in Wellington last year.
Included on the tour schedule was performances at Massey University in Palmerston North on July 22, Tararua College on July 23, Feilding Civic Centre on July 24, Waitara High School on July 28, Horowhenua College on July 31, Wairarapa Events Centre on August 4, and Mākoura College on August 5.
Waenga follows the story of Connie, a young wahine Māori, who finds herself in a police cell after being detained through legislative move-on orders. It explores her freedom and what her future might look like against the back drop of today’s political landscape.
With close to two decades of performing under her belt on stage and screen, Moriarty takes on a lead role in the play.
Raised in Wellington, the theatre has been a part of her life since she was born.
She had performed in Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu, the theatre company co-founded by her father in 1989, since she was a child.
Alongside her brother, they had since founded Hurō Productions.
As part of the development of Waenga, the pair worked alongside high school students in Wellington to help inform character development.
This included a series of interviews to gain an understanding of their politics and what they wanted for the next generation.
“It’s all informed from a place of truth,” Moriarty said of the play.
While the show had “many different iterations” since it was first created, it had a “deep
connection” with all its audiences so far, she said.
“I think everyone can draw connections to it in terms of understanding their obligations in terms of social justice.”
Engaging people in the world around them was especially important because of the upcoming general election, Moriarty said.
Another aim for the trained lawyer was to make theatre as accessible as possible for people who might not otherwise get to see it.
“We take the work into the communities and I think that’s the most important thing.”
In addition to Waenga, Hurō Productions had recently finished a short film in te reo Māori, which was funded by the New Zealand Film Commission.
Moriarty said it remained her mission to continue to collaborate and create art “which services and heals our community.”
Tickets can be purchased at www.eventfinda.co.nz/tours-festivals/2026/waenga.
Taranaki Daily News
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