He Pūranga | Past Projects
The Battalion
29 April - 4 May 2019
Featuring Students from St Mary’s College, St Patrick’s Colleges (Town and Silverstream), Taita College and St Catherine’s College
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Theatre Marae in schools
In 2019 Te Rākau applied its Theatre Marae technique to the story of New Zealand’s 28th Māori Battalion, presenting playwright Helen Pearse-Otene’s The Battalion.
Students from St Mary's College, St Patrick’s Colleges (Town and Silverstream), Taita College and Saint Catherine's College performed at St Mary's College Hall in Te Whanganui a Tara (Wellington), New Zealand.
Following the school's production of The Battalion, we worked with professional cinematographers to capture a digital theatre recording of the play.
The Battalion is a moving story about friendship, loyalty, madness and redemption – seen through the eyes of war veteran Paora Matene, and relayed to his wayward charges Rimini and George.
The Theatre Marae environment challenges students to develop skills in a variety of areas, including: lateral thinking, spatial awareness and coordination, text analysis, self awareness and presentation, resilience, time management, and inter-personal communication.
The outcome is a high quality school production and enriching experience for audience members, performers, and their families. Students may also achieve NCEA credits.
Resources
The Battalion was presented with these students as a Theatre Marae in-school production. You can find out more about hosting your own in-school production below, or find out more about a soon-to-be-released education resource.