Kōanga Festival 2024

Te Tuangahurutanga o Te Ahurei Whakaari o Kōanga | 10 years of celebrating new Māori storytelling at the time of Kōanga

Kōanga is a time when te taiao comes to life with new growth. Te Pou Theatre's annual Kōanga Festival cultivates new ideas and shares the bounty of new narratives through Māori performing arts over this special time.

This year's Kōanga Festival is set to be our biggest yet, celebrating 10 years and spanning three and a half weeks with 11+ events – it is Te Pou Theatre's most extensive national programme of whakaari Māori. Festival goers will be treated to new work from experienced Māori theatre practitioners like Hone Kouka, whose play Ngā Rorirori is a comical dance theatre work about one whānau’s relationship with their whenua. Following sold-out performances in Pōneke, Scotty Cotter’s work NEKE makes its Tāmaki debut - a physical theatre work about self-discovery featuring Moana Ete & Dominic Ona-Ariki and design by acclaimed visual artist Tracey Tawhiao.

New works premiere from rising talent Hone Taukiri in Māori Krisha and Acacia O’Connor, with AltarNative. Both plays explore what it’s like to be Māori and grow up in alternative upbringings.
This year, Kōanga is partnering with New Zealand Opera for Tōiri, hosted by opera star Kawiti Waetford with four kaiwaiata who will sing opera in te reo Māori. The special event is during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. The festival will end with the new show from award-winning performer, Rutene Spooner Be Like Billy? explores the influence and legacy of the famous comedian.

A staple at each year’s festival is the support of new works from Māori writers. Four playwrights are chosen to workshop their new plays with a mentor, a director, and actors, and ends in a public reading with the first presentation of that work; Play Readings Pōmere & Play Readings Pōhoroi.

Another annual fixture at Kōanga Festival is Whānau Day, a festive time to appreciate our tamariki and whānau with live performances, kai stalls and circus demonstrations from The Dust Palace, music from MOHI, a performance of the te reo play Te Hokinga Mai o Hoiho as well as much much more!

See below for the full programme (Hōtaka)

Full Hōtaka

6 Sept | Ngā Tohu o Te Taiao

7 Sept | Whānau Day (Free event)

11 - 14 Sept | NEKE by Scotty Cotter

11 - 14 Sept | Māori Krishna + AltarNative by Hone Taukiri & Acacia O'Connor

16 Sept | Tōiri presented in partnership with NZ Opera

19 - 22 Sept | Ngā Rorirori by Hone Kouka

20 Sept | Play Readings Pōmere by Tawhi Thomas & Tūī Matelau

21 Sept | Play Readings Pōhoroi by Turene Jones & Rainton Oneroa

25 - 28 Sept | Rutene Spooner's Be Like Billy?


Kōanga Festival is delivered by Te Pou Theatre and Te Rehia Theatre with major support from Creative New Zealand, Auckland Council & Foundation North. Special acknowledgement to Eke Panuku & Hāpai te Hauora for supporting Whānau Day.