Kua toko ake te āritarita o te ngākau o Tiare Teinakore ki a Rūrūtāo i tana whai wāhitanga ki te whakaari Rōmeo rāua ko Hūrieta.

I puta te āmaimai i tēnei tuatahitanga, hei tā tēnei wahine kapa haka. I riro i a ia te taonga o te kaitātaki wahine o te motu, i āna mahi tātaki i te kapa haka o Te Iti Kahurangi ki te Matatini, 2013.

“I te wā i tonoa au hei kaiwhakaari, ko tāku… ‘He aha hoki! Ehara au i te kaiwhakaari’.

Heoi, i tere rata au ki te tono, i te mea ko te kaupapa ko te reo me ōna tikanga.”

Nōku te hōnore i whai wāhi ai au ki tēnei whakaari mō Rōmeo rāua ko Hūrieta, e whakauru nei i te reo Māori ki ngā papa hou, papa whakahirahira.

“He hōnore nui i whai wāhi ki tētahi kaupapa whakamana i te reo.”

Nā Te Haumihiata Mason, rāua ko Te Arepa Kahi, te kaitohutohu o te kiriata a Stan Walker Mt Zion, i tino awe ai a Tiare, he kaiako o He Korowai Ākonga ki Mangakōtukutuku.

“He waiwaiā te whakamāoritanga o Rōmeo rāua ko Hūrieta. Nāna (Te Haumihiata), i pai rirerire ai te kōpūtahinga o te reo huahuatau o te Ao Māori me te ao Rūrūtāo.

Nā Tiare a Taipara i whakaari, koia tētahi tungāne nō Hūrieta, ka mutu, koia te hoariri o Rōmeo.

Nō te tīmatanga o tēnei marama i whakaaturia ai a Rōmeo rāua ko Hūrieta ki te Whare Tāonga o Tāmaki.

Ka whakaatu anō ki te Koroneihana o Kīngi Tūheitia ki Tūrangawaewae hei te 22 o Hereturikoka.

Ko Rōmeo rāua ko Hūrieta te tuatahi o ngā whakaari Rūrūtāo 10, kua whakamāoritia, ka whakaaturia ia tau mō ngā tau tekau e heke mai hei whakanui i te wā o Matariki.

Tiare Teinakore has a new found appreciation for Shakespeare since her debut thespian performance in the Māori language production of Romeo and Juliet.                                                                                                 

It was a nervous first step into the world of acting, says the kapa haka veteran, who was crowned the best female leader for the Hamilton group Te Iti Kahurangi at Te Matatini 2013.

“When I was approached to join the play I thought . . . ‘What? I can’t act’.  

However, I soon became sold on the idea because the kaupapa was te reo me ōna tikanga.”                                                                     

Tiare says it was an honour to be a part of the recently held Rōmeo raua ko Hurieta play because it delivered te reo Māori in a new and exciting forum.

“Being involved in this project that allowed our language to soar to new heights was a wonderful privilege.”

Tiare, the Kaiako Bachelor of Primary School Education - He Korowai Ākonga at Mangakōtukutuku, was inspired by Te Haumihiata Mason, who translated the work, and Te Arepa Kahi, who directed the Stan Walker film Mt. Zion

“Her (Te Haumihiata) translation of Romeo and Juliet is truly beautiful. She married with a wonderful grace the poetry of both the Shakespeare world and Te Ao Māori.”

Tiare, played Taipara (Tybalt) an older sibling of Hurieta and the rival of Rōmeo.

Rōmeo and Hurieta was on show at Auckland Museum’s Māori Court earlier this month.

It will be performed again at the Koroneihana celebrations for Māori King Tuheitia at Turangawaewae on August 22. 

Rōmeo raua ko Hurieta is the first of 10 te reo Māori-translated Shakespeare plays to be delivered annually over the next decade to celebrate Matariki.