Introducing Gillian Whitehead - Composer

The story of the house, and the tribulations the Mataatua Whare went through, being disassembled and rebuilt many times over the years, makes a very compelling and dramatic story full of contrasts and emotion. In the production Tomairangi Henare represents te ao Māori, Paul Whelan the Pākehā world, assuming the characters of a government official and a judge, while Rebecca Ryan represents the voice and the presence of Mataatua Whare. Visuals feature the text in te reo Maori and English, along with historic photographs sourced from the Hocken Collection.