I Am Māori
Ordinary People changing the world

On the completion of a national tour, Young and Hungry presents I Am Māori, a work that features excerpts from plays by some of NZ’s leading Māori playwrights.

Directed by Nancy Brunning, I Am Māori  touches on topics such as family issues, politics and land rights, with a common thread being ordinary people doing extraordinary things to change their world, no matter who they are or their background. It is the connection to their culture that gives them great strength to fight their battles and find the hero within.

I Am Māori has been on an eight week tour of secondary schools around the country, presenting scenes from plays by Witi Ihimaera (Woman Far Walking), Hone Kouka (Wairoa), Briar Grace-Smith (Ngā Pou Wāhine), Albert Belz (Astroman), Mīria George (Night Mechanics), Mitch Tawhi Thomas (Hui), Rore Hapīpī (Death of the Land), and Maraea Rakuraku (Tan-Knee). The scenes were selected by Nancy Brunning because they all deal with change – whether that change is bad, liberating or challenging.

Nancy says she would aspire her storyteller super power to be matakite/seeing into the future.
“Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te iwi – without foresight or vision the people will be lost”.