Raureti Ormond

At a young age, Raureti Ormond is already helping shape the future of Takatāpui storytelling in Aotearoa.

A playwright, performer, drag artist and creative storyteller, Raureti joins Donald for a thoughtful and inspiring conversation about identity, belonging, self-expression, and the power of being unapologetically yourself.

Together they explore what it means to be seen, how creativity can become a place of freedom, and why telling our stories matters for future generations.

This episode is a celebration of young queer Māori excellence, courage, and the next generation of Takatāpui voices.

🎧 Takatāpui Talk – Important Conversations. Real Voices. Our Stories.

Follow and subscribe:
Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, YouTube and Facebook.

#TakatāpuiTalk #RauretiOrmond #Takatāpui #QueerMāori #RainbowAotearoa #MāoriStorytelling #LGBTQIA #Playwright #DragPerformer #TheTīwhas #HeIngoa #Podcast #RealStoriesRealVoices

Thank you for listening to Takatāpui Talk with Donald Hollingsworth.

If this kōrero resonated with you, please follow, share, and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform. Your support helps these stories reach more people across Aotearoa and beyond.

Follow Takatāpui Talk on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for episode updates, behind-the-scenes moments, and upcoming interviews.

Our conversations.
Our stories.
Our voices.

Arohanui.

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I think Tapui tonga quite a supermond. How are you really tonight? I'm good tonight. I'm in Wellington at the moment, so it's been a little bit scary with the the floods happening around the city, but I'm safe in my fade and our place is all good. So yeah, feeling pretty lucky. But it's cold and it's wet.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Okay, so can you tell me about where you came from, your people, your upbringing?

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, hidene nonga titufare. So I come from the beautiful fresh waters of Waihaha and Fanganui, Ki Topomuana. Yeah, so that's where I'm from. I've sort of grown up everywhere. So I was raised in my early childhood in Fukuoka, a city over in Japan. Spent some time in Torangamana as well, and then did all of my high schooling back home in Topo. And now I'm sort of based in Tefanga Nuya Tara, uh Wellington.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Was that because of your parents, their Mahi, or while you traveled yesterday?

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Yeah, so sort of traveling for my dad's Mahi. Yeah, so he is a rugby player, so he was sort of yeah, all over the place growing up. So yeah, we sort of just followed where dad went.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

What stories were you surrounded by as a child?

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Yeah, good question. Definitely not Takatafu stories was surrounded by a lot of rugby players and a lot of rugby families as well. And I sort of remember all of our family friends, and yeah, all my cousins, all the sons, they all loved rugby. Yeah, so I always felt sort of other in that sense. But I was always surrounded by, I guess, I loved television, and that was sort of like my escape. And I sort of grew up in the time of a lot of there was a lot of musical TV shows and movies coming out at the time. So we had like high school musical and glee was a big one for me and Pitch Perfect. So yeah, always lots of music happening, and that's sort of what I gravitated to as opposed to rugby. Yeah, and definitely didn't grow up hearing a lot of Maori stories as well. But that of course is from growing up overseas. Yeah, and I sort of realized like growing up, like, oh, I wish I heard more Maori stories, but at the same time, I'm incredibly lucky to have experienced a completely different culture and seen other sides of the world. So yeah, lucky, very lucky in that sense. But yeah, sort of like moving home back to Topo is sort of the first time I remember being surrounded by more Mavi stories and more of our stories. And yeah, that was sort of where I I first remember hearing the word Takatapui in high school. In high school.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

So where did you sit in your family? Were you the eldest, the baby? Yeah, yeah. So there is two of us.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

So I have an older, and she's three years older than me, so I'm the youngest. Wow. And what did you do together?

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Sort of everything, like you sort of because that's a close, that's a close distance between you.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

So yeah, we were sort of besties growing up. Yeah, we went to school together. We both went to Football Class National School. So my sister was always like keeping an eye out for me.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Did you need much help?

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Nah, not really. Like yeah, definitely dad was always super busy and always on the road. So definitely like my my sister and I, and my mum, we spent a lot of time together as kids. I remember. What expectations did dad have on you? Yeah, honestly, my dad is amazing, and he's sort of uh never sort of pushed his passions on on me and my sister as well. Like neither of us have taken to sports at all. But I definitely remember it was more sort of like the expectation of others, uh sort of yeah, being like your dad's a rugby player, and sort of being like, Do you play rugby? What position do you play? Just being no, no, no, no. Um yeah, so it was sort of it was never any pressure in our home. It was sort of the world outside.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

So your mother would have been a footballer's wife or a rugby wife.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Yeah, yeah. So she's always sort of she looked after us as kids. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

So when did you first feel different or aware of your identity?

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Yeah. Honestly, as like there's so many like family photos of me as a kid wearing like pieces of fabric as a dress, like wrapped around my body somehow. Like Halloween, like doing the absolute most. Yeah, honestly. As young as I can remember, I think like the times that it stood out most was, yeah, any time sort of all the all the rugby families and kids were around and all the the the sons. Yeah. Just being super different to me, all like athletic, they all loved running around and tackling each other. And I wanna I wanna draw. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

And and you were always allowed, you were always encouraged.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yeah, always. Yeah. Mum and dad have always been amazing like that.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

So you never had any pressures at school?

SPEAKER_00 6:23

Not in Fukuoka. No. Honestly, it wasn't until I moved back to Alte Awa was sort of the first time that I sort of experienced like a lot of bullying at school. What was that like? Yeah, I mean, even just in general, moving back to Altawa, I remember being quite a huge adjustment. Yeah. And kids in Japan are very sort of regimented and and all well behaved. Polite, really polite. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 6:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

And just kids in New Zealand are a lot more. It's true. That immediately was like a huge adjustment. And then just kids like I just, yeah, then being super mean at school. Yeah. Especially back in my younger years. Um like primary, intermediate, early high school was like the worst of it. The time I sort of got to the end of high school, I was like just pretty confident. I was like, I've already been through some. I'm just gonna own it.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Same here. To tell the truth, I didn't have any choice, you know, from day one of school. You know, it's like, why do you talk like that? Why do you walk like that? You know, and it's like I've become the six foot four with a much deeper voice, but you know, I was like a little girl, and that was my identity. And I didn't, you know, like I was like, there's nothing I can do about it. You know, and I think about identity that way too, because I couldn't um I didn't like boys. I don't believe children have sexualities. I thought that boys were disgusting. You know, I hated getting changed with them. Even, you know, as a six-year-old going in to get ready for swimming, I still would carry the towel up high. You know, I don't know why. You know, this is also the 70s, so I had no um, I had no glee. I didn't have anything like that, you know, and I just um I was like when people would ask me all the time, I didn't know why. And I would say things, well, this is what God gave me, and that was probably the worst thing I could say. Yeah. I love what I love what you're saying about being Māori. And do you do you find because I know your grandmother, um Lipika Shepard, and I just adore her, she's one of my very close clients. Was she your uh discovery to to to Māori, to being Māori or your fucker papa, you know, because she's very Yeah, I would say so, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Yeah, like definitely all my uncles and aunties, they yeah, they are all you know quite fair skin, which yeah, real interesting because my man she is, yeah. She is Mauri. Yeah, and yeah, she owns it. So yeah, I would say she sort of stands out as sort of being like that poet back when we were kids, and still she is what was your earliest memory of her? Ooh. Honestly, like I remember a lot of goodbyes at airports. It wouldn't have been just goodbye. Yeah, being like we were always back and forth between Alteador and Cork. But yeah, I just remember a lot of the time being saying goodbye to them at the Auckland Airport. I always we would have like McDonald's for breakfast at the airport, we'd get pancakes, and yeah, our core he had a little flat up in Tomachy, so we would stay there the night before we had to travel. So that was sort of my earliest memory of being yeah, sort of around Nan and Grandad.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Hmm. Because she's just stunning, she's such a beautiful she reminds me of my aunties, and all of them have passed now, you see. So I'm always looking for what Henya like her, especially in my clientele. And I'm very close to her, you know. So, and both my grandparents passed before I was born, so I never got to spend that time with them, you know, that is quite crucial because the love of a grandmother is very different to the love of a mother or your mama. So your work, Heingua, centers around names. What does your name, Loreti, mean to you now?

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Yeah, so yeah, my name is pretty important to me now, but I guess I didn't really feel that way growing up, just because of everyone always mispronouncing it. Yeah. I felt like a burden. But yeah, as I've sort of grown up, it sort of anchors me, I guess, and it reminds me of where I come from. I'm named it's uh T Punane. So yeah, it sort of makes me feel more connected to my fucking. And now I just love the sound of Māori names. I meet someone with uh Maori Ingwamori and music. I'm like, ah, I just love hearing it. I love, yeah, I just yeah, the more Ingwamadi in the world, the better I feel.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Who who called you Lodeti?

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Hey, that's a great question. Yeah, it is and dad, but yeah, I do wonder if there was any corridor from the rest of the final. There generally is, especially with the name, especially a two punter name. Yeah, but is also my uncle uh Pete's middle name as well. Okay, and then Cordor gave him so I love that about Māori names.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

My middle name is Nuttal Noor, and I was the first grandchild or first Mukapuna born after my grandmother had passed. And my grandmother, Nati Hine, she had 16 children, and she was very, very special to all of them. So when I was born, and being the first muku born after she, I think she'd passed six months before I was born, and there was a lot of grief, and so everybody converged to Rotarua where I was born to see if she was inside me, do you know? And my uncle Nata said, we will call him Nuttal Noor. So I'm very proud of that name, but again, like you, people didn't pronounce it properly when I was younger, and it was a jewel to me, so I kept it quite secret, but now it means so much. I think that'll be a good question for you to ask. Should yeah, I must. Because I was thinking, do you think our names hold memory or responsibility?

SPEAKER_00 13:33

Yeah, that is a good question. Definitely memory, absolutely. Responsibility is an interesting one because I know a lot of people have changed their names because they felt sort of like the responsibility was too much. Yeah, I think it sort of yeah, depends on who you are. For me, I love challenge, I love to sort of live up to the legacy of someone. Yeah, yeah, I got it, but enough it's not the case.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

So there was a lot of emotion around hangua. So according to your grandmother, but uh what how did you come up how where did that begin? Like how did that come to you?

SPEAKER_02 14:18

Yeah, good question.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Yeah, it's I had sort of been pondering it for a while, and I made a show in Fringe Festival. In Wellington, and yeah, and uh Juanekoka um who runs Kyama Festival, he came and saw that show. And yeah, a couple months later he sort of approached me and asked if I would want to yeah, create a new work for the festival. And yeah, he sort of gave me the challenge of doing something new. And he said, Do anything new, but I want to see something new that you haven't done before. So yeah, I just for a couple months it's just quite inward and just yeah, thought, what do I want to say? Um yeah, and then sort of the topic of names kept coming up because it's not just first names, but it's also like place names, and yeah, it's just it's one of those things we all have a name, but how much do we know about where our names come from? Yeah, and how much do we know about others and where their names come from? So I I sort of yeah, put the word out and I actually started interviewing uh a few of my friends. Oh I recorded a series of interviews where I sort of asked them about their names and uh how they carried and where they come from, and there was just so much yeah, juicy stuff in there. Yeah, bad. What we're gonna do. So yeah, I started writing some Wayata and it sort of ended up becoming this song cycle or musical about names. Yeah, and then we sort of casted it from there, and yeah, all of the people and collaborators that we had working on that project, it was a story that they resonated with as well. Yeah, so all of our cast, you know, they have big names and big stories behind them, so it was quite like a healing experience for all of us, which is cool. Just Maori people? Uh yeah, well, it was it was sort of yeah, a huge mix of indigenous people. So yeah, Maori, Moan, Philippine, yeah, it was sort of like a melting pot, which was really important to me. The music was primarily in Tidal Māori and English. There were yeah, some Pacifica kupu sort of scattered throughout it. It was it was really important for me to represent yeah, as a sort of quite an eclectic group of people to sort of show that you know the experience of names is sort of universal.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

They are I I um I I never got to see it, so why didn't you only just did one season?

SPEAKER_00 17:34

Yeah, so we did our Wellington season, which is sort of like up, yeah. Um, but yeah, we're uh we have sort of like a tour that work in progress at the moment. So okay. Yeah, we're sort of in the process of reaching out and confirming with with venues and presenters. Hopefully late 2026 through to 2027 will be taking you to different communities across out there.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

And what sort of communities is it good for? Is school, you know, high school students like yeah, it is like it is a show that uh would be awesome for high schoolers.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

Uh but yeah, we're sort of looking at sort of regional festivals, so sort of tethery, yeah, um uh auto. Yeah, we would sort of love to bring it to sort of like central to Kamaui, sort of closer home and sort of yeah, start there and then but yeah, honestly, the dreamers go everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 18:47

I think in Uturo we have an ordinary festival, indigenous festival, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we were looking into that, and so yeah, hopefully bring it bring it up for that festival.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

So, when did you realize storytelling and performance was your path?

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Yeah, that's a good question because I think growing up I was sort of one of those kids that wanted to do it all. Yes, I I wanted to be a fashion designer, I wanted to and I wanted to be too everything. Yeah, yeah. That is sort of actually where I fell in love with musical theater because it's multidisciplinary and you get to yeah, participate in a lot of different genres, which I love. But yeah, I would say it was probably around when Glee came out. Yes. And like honestly, I can't even like explain the impact that Glee had on me. Like it just made me fall in love with music and show tunes and musical theater. So I think yeah, sort of around like when the Glee hype was like really at its peak, is sort of I realized that I love stories and I love performing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

For me, you know, I grew up in the sort of 70s and 80s, and so I was when I first saw Judy Garland, you know, play um you know uh The Wizard of Oz, you know, I was so excited. And I was also seeing, if I saw drag characters, I was seeing English male drag queens that were so funny and the humor first, and I think that's where I got learned how to read, you know. Yeah, that sort of pantomime pantomime, that's right. Yeah. Uh what draws you to musical theaters uh specifically, glee?

SPEAKER_00 20:50

Yeah, glee, but yeah, just sort of the multidiscipline of it all. Yeah, and I think music has just such a strong language, it's sort of universal. I think of all sort of theater, but yeah, sometimes when you watch a play, I think the speaking for me sometimes feels a bit stagnant. And then as soon as I hear Hawaii, it's sort of like my heart just opens up and I'm yeah, and I can sort of like perceive all the the beauty. Um yeah, but I guess musical theater has sort of looked I guess sort of one way for a long time. So yeah, it's sort of been like a huge passion of mine. Sorry about that. Sort of yeah, creating musical work that sort of speaks to our stories and not just sort of like big yeah, Broadway single.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

So You uh you know, that time when you were writing music. So sorry, I'm just trying to get to the point of when did you realize because you know, look, I mean, I mean let's face it, commissioning is really hard to get, you know, and like you you have this most incredible gift. When was the first time someone picked up something that you had created yourself from scratch?

SPEAKER_00 22:25

What was your first piece? Yeah, that was hitting one? Yeah, so that was the first time I was sort of commissioned for yeah, so that was you surprised, were you shocked? Were you like okay? I'm not gonna lie, I was not surprised. I remember I remember sort of talking to Juan, the friend show that I did, and I was so proud of that friend show, I thought it was really good. Yes. So yeah, I sort of was quite chuffed that he got to see that awesome.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

Yeah, so that was sort of I like because those those are the questions about becoming an artist. So this person approached you from um when you were working in a you were working in a musical or you were on a musical or you were starring in one or so.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

This was a show that um I put on in fringe festival um at uh where I studied. They did this annual fringe show called Lift Off, where they essentially uh take two or three graduating students and they help you put on your work in the fringe festival. Yeah. Um for incline support. So they completely sort of funded that production. So yeah, it was really special that yeah, it was myself and my cousin, Padakawa, were selected. So yeah, we sort of made this double bill where we both did two sort of like half an hour shows and then we wove them together. Yeah, and then yeah, so that was the show that we put on in fringe festival. It was called Harp Latia. Um, and we sort of invited a lot of yeah, industry people, and Horne was sort of one of them. What was that about? Yeah, so I did a sort of half an hour show called Czefio, which was sort of like a folk musical retelling of the Tangiwai disaster.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Oh wow, okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:47

Wow. Um, it was a mix of original songs and sort of old classic folk songs. Yeah, and then we had like a cast of nine people and two musicians. Uh and then my cousin Parikawashi did a solo piece which was all about Mokomokai and sort of preserved heads. Um yeah, and sort of I don't know if you've ever seen there's this like very famous controversial photo of Pakeha man called Horatio Robbie and sitting in front of this collection of mokumokai of Māori heads that he had collected. Yeah, on sticks. Yeah, so she made a uh solo show as sort of a a reaction to that photo. And then we it sounds crazy, but we managed to weave the two shows together. No, I love it. And was sort of that we were sort of both uh yeah, artists from Fanganui Bay. So those the transitions were about about Fanganui and our shared fucker papa.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

So how you know the even the the the first piece that you did about um you know the the disaster, you know, the how did that come? I mean like where where does it come from? Where did it the tangy white, you know, the the disaster of that poor ferry, the ship. It it comes from had you just watched Titanic or a railway disaster.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry, yes, okay. Yeah, so different to the Wachineb. I do I actually have wanted to make a show about the Wahina disaster as well. The Wahina disaster. That's it. Sorry, got me mixed up, the disasters. So yeah, but the topway disaster is a railway disaster, but sort of the idea grew from the fact that I wanted to make it go with folk music. I still love that old sort of falky sound. Yeah. Um, and yeah, there's a lot of folk music that's about trains. So I sort of see it.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Yeah. So I sort of had this idea of like, oh, how can I like yeah, make a show set on a train and it's all quite falky. And then it was literally one of my mates who was like, what if it was like the tangywai disaster? And it was like fireworks, it was like, pew, pew, pew. And yeah, so that's sort of how that started. And I've I've it's uh big work in progress. I'm still trying to extend it from half an hour to like a two-hour show. Yeah. But I think that one's gonna take me a while.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

I suppose it'll be introducing characters into it, really, wouldn't it? You know?

SPEAKER_02 27:57

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

I think the reason why it's taking so long is because it's uh historical event. So yeah, sort of making sure that we're doing our due diligence and that it's well researched and resourced.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

Is anyone still alive?

SPEAKER_00 28:17

Yeah, I would say so. Yeah. Um the survivors were yeah, in their eighties. Yeah, true. By now. Yeah. And that meant that they would have been like kids or toddlers.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Yeah. Yeah, so their memory might be brief. Yeah. Um so changing the tact, what does Takatapui tanga tanga mean to you?

SPEAKER_00 28:49

It's really interesting because I think Takatapui Tanga has actually opened the door for me to explore my Maori tanga, if that makes sense. And I I always give credit to my drag sisters. Um I'm a part of a drag collective called the Tifas. We're sort of um, yeah, so we're a girl group of four Māori drag queens. Um yeah, and we sort of perform together. But it was yeah, honestly, forming that collective that allowed me to explore Kapahaka and Poi and sort of just feel unashamed. Because that sort of when I was younger, it was quite intimidating. Uh because yeah, I didn't want to be in the back row with all the boys. No, I didn't either. I was always too scared to sort of you know play around with the poi. I sort of once I became a part of the Strag collective where we sort of just made our own space, it was the first thing where I could do Hakka without where I could be, you know, you know, sort of wahine where I could yeah, where I could poi just not feel sort of an expectation. I think Takatapuitang are quite a superpower. Um yeah, and I guess you sort of what am I trying to say? It gives you a lot of sort of uh ferocity because when you've had to sort of walk through life, you know, being challenged since you were young, others you reach a point where you're just like, I'm just gonna live my life. That's true, yeah. And now honestly, like people always tell me, like, how are you so confident? I'm like, honestly, just nothing anyone could say. Yeah. Heard it all when I was a kid.

SPEAKER_01 31:22

Yeah. So how did you meet the Tifas? And tell us more about the Tifas. What do you perform? Do you have you done musical versions in Mali? Or I'd love to see yours.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Um, the Tifas, we were formed uh started by my drag sister, Dame Jathan, and she um yeah, she is like obsessed with dream girls and like the Supreme. She just loves those sort of like iconic brown girl groups. So she always had the dream of being in a girl group. Yes, and she sort of found us all. We met through my university. We both did the same musical theater degree, but quite a few years apart. But she always sort of came into our kudder to teach or to come see our shows, and she sort of found me and took me in as a 19-year-old, and then yeah, she found our other sisters as well. We all come from theater, so that's sort of our background, but yeah, we formed a girl group, so yeah, we mostly sing live and we dance and we poorly, um, we lip sync. Yeah, so we mostly do like concerts, um theatrical concerts. So most of them have a theme. Um like we did for the past three years, we've done every year Tifas and Matsariki Spectacular. Um yeah, we've made a few concerts about Matariki. This year we have our show is called or our big show for the year is called Mare Kura, and it's all about um atwa wachine or um historical wahine that have uh changed our um so yeah, looking at atwa, but also like Fina, um Kamerupi, Georgina. Oh wow, yeah, and then we're also like there's a huge element that is all about the Wachine in our own lives, our mums, our nans, our sisters, our aunties. Uh so it's all about the Wachine that have inspired us to want to, you know, become Wachine or dress up as Wachine. Um yeah, so we perform sort of all over Altero, we sort of jet sit around. Um anyone will have us, to be honest. We just love to perform together.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

So I love I love that show. That sounds amazing. That show of so what sort of songs, what sort of wietar do you have? So let's say if we think of Fina, what song have you got for her?

SPEAKER_00 34:28

Yes, this might be like spoilers, but oh of course, you're still rehearsing, I'm sorry. But like an idea of um, do you know Snowblock Tango from Chicago? Totally, yes. That's like you've given all these sort of like iconic uh historical wahine and writing our own verses and being like back in you know, back in my day, I did this, this, this, and yeah, um yeah, or yes, they like to blend sort of musical theater songs, hits, and so we love to sing alongs and songs that everyone knows, that's sort of our vibe. Yeah, um, of course, Waya Tamadi as well. But yeah, so sort of like I'm trying to think of an example.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

So is there storytelling interweaved into it as well? Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

Yeah, so it's like a concert with like themes and um sort of dialogue in between to sort of connect the songs to this overarching theme.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

Yeah. When are you when do you think you'll be completing this? Are you looking at now sort of up to the summer months, the warmer months?

SPEAKER_00 35:50

Yeah, so we that show is happening in July. Um so we're doing a season here in Tefanga Yatara. Um yeah, and then hopefully we'll take it around.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Yeah, you've got to come here. That sounds amazing. So you move between theater and drag. What space allows so which what does each space allow you to express? Theater and drag, what space allows you to express? They are really different. Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

I love drag because it's so free. Yeah, and honestly, there's no rules. Um even though our shows are sort of like scripted, yeah. Like when we mess up, we make fun of each other on stage, and it's fine, and you can just get away with so much, and we riff and we improvise all the time, which I love. Yeah, so you can be quite naughty with drag, which I love. But yeah, I think theatre is sort of like my home, I guess. And it's sort of like where I started, so I always come back to theatre. Um and I I love sort of like how in it theatre is that you're just sort of in the story, you're not Yeah, it's all encompassing, isn't it, theatre?

SPEAKER_01 37:28

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:30

It's live in the moment, yeah. Yeah, whereas like with Screen, for example, I don't get that sort of same joy from Screen because it's so stop and start, and it's not linear as well. Sometimes you're filming like the last scene, but it's the first scene that you filmed. But I love with theater, you start from the very beginning and you get to yeah, go on this journey. And sort of, yeah, you get to experience the full story in real time.

SPEAKER_01 38:07

Yeah, because you are taking people on a journey, aren't you, with theater? So who is Pania? What does she hold that maybe adodity doesn't? Yeah, I love this question.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

Because I've I thought about them. Yeah, yeah, because honestly, there was the point last year where I'd been in drag so much that I was just sort of tired because drag is exhausted.

SPEAKER_01 38:33

Um it's painful, drag, isn't it? It really cuts your skin.

SPEAKER_00 38:38

Like you have 500 safe things dug into your scalp, the corset like laced to you can't breathe. It's like awesome, but it sucks. Um but yeah, so I'd sort of been yeah, quite tired with drag last year. But uh sort of like on New Year's, going into 26, I wrote down a lot of goals, and one of my big goals was to prioritize Panya uh this year, which yeah, I think I've really done. But yeah, she my name Paniya obviously comes from Panyo Teako, Pania of the Reef, um from Teato Al Maui, and she sort of represents like this divine feminine, and she is beautiful, she's sensual, she's gentle, but she's strong. And she is I think of her as like she encompasses the ocean. Um yeah, so sometimes the ocean is still and she's gentle, other times she is roaring and ferocious. Yeah, I think she makes me feel empowered, I guess. Um I think as Roditi, I'm quite like a I'm quite introverted to be honest. But like in a in a confident way, but I am quite yeah, I'm not sort of like a huge extrovert, but as Panier, I sort of yeah, get to be quite confident.

SPEAKER_01 40:34

You get that time to be more confident and stuff like that. And you're quite obviously confident as a producer, a writer, and a director, because those are all the things that you're doing. You're wearing lots of different hats. Um, and so Panio gives you that freedom, like you said before, but you still feel free as Lodete. Yeah, I mean, there's more money in drag anyway. Do you know? Have you noticed that? Whereas drag is so has such a big audience, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00 41:02

Yeah, yeah, honestly, like with drag, like we'll do a 20-minute corporate gig, and it is a better pay than I got for like a two-week season at a thing. It is, yeah, definitely better money.

SPEAKER_01 41:19

That's okay. It's also a much bigger audience to drag because everybody needs drag. It makes uh such a fun evening, it relaxes people. And I produced a few drag shows um where I bought drag queens here, and you know, the venues that I've hired have been like, whoa, we never we didn't expect, you know, this, we didn't expect the bar to do this, you know. And I said, this is what drag does. Yeah, again, yeah, especially dinner and show. So your work touches on things like rugby, masculinity, and growing up here. What conversations are you wanting to challenge?

SPEAKER_00 42:01

Yeah, I guess I I really love sort of socially charged work. Uh yeah, so I guess anything that I'll ever make always has something loud to say. But yeah, I guess I'm really just passionate about marginalized people and um yeah, the environment. Really, really want to make a show about the ocean. Yes. That's like my next one in my mind. Um, and sort of about yeah, marine life and just the beauty and vastness of Tangarola. Um and how we're ruining it, so yeah, absolutely. We're destroying people. I would destroy it. Yeah, so I guess yeah, I want to sort of challenge the way that the world is now, but I love to do work that is still hopeful, it's always really important to me. And not sort of yeah, like always voicing what's wrong, but always giving hope um and giving sort of solution or remedy.

SPEAKER_02 43:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

As a young Māori creative, what responsibility do you feel, if any, to those who came before you?

SPEAKER_00 43:39

Yeah, I've been thinking about this a lot recently. Yeah, I definitely feel like being here in Defanganuiatada, I'm sort of yeah, I feel quite wrapped in or cloaked by a lot of great artists. Um who came before me. One that I think a lot about is Nancy Brunning. And yeah, I sort of notice her around me all the time. Like everywhere I go, there's always like a portrait of her hunger somewhere. Yeah, her name on a buck somewhere. Um yeah, so she was quite close to my fun own and she comes from Tokpo and she went to my um high school as well. So yeah, she's sort of just like a huge inspiration. Yeah, and I would say like I I don't feel uh a responsibility to live up to anything, but I feel a response uh a responsibility to uh remember um and to uh acknowledge the the shoulders that we we stand on. Yeah it's really special being in Wellington, I guess, because you're cloaked in it, like you said.

SPEAKER_01 45:13

You're cloaked in it, you're wrapped in it. Yeah. So um have you ever been in love then? Uh I don't think so. I'm still like, why am I still single? Well then oh, I would have said that too when I was 24, you know, like it's true, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:40

Yeah, no, I'm not in love. The prospects aren't looking too promising at the moment, but yeah, I'm definitely like a huge romantic, so yes, I bet. Yeah, always dream about, and like my wedding has been planned for like ten years now. So I love that it's perfect, yeah. But yeah, haven't met the one yet, but always holding up.

SPEAKER_01 46:12

So where do you see yourself in five, ten years?

SPEAKER_00 46:17

Yeah, I see myself sort of fronting a successful production company. Um I see myself having now like a uh repertoire or a uh a catalogue of amazing shows that I've produced or been a part of starting with Hing or what? Yeah, I see myself um sort of transitioning into uh recording music and making albums um to capture all of my um yeah musical work. I don't know where in the world I see myself. I love Wellington, yeah, but yeah, maybe I'll be exploring the world. But I think if I'm ever living in Arteador, I I would want to be based in Wellington. Yeah. Um where else do I see myself? Hopefully in love.

SPEAKER_01 47:20

Um yeah, but if you think of your sisterhood too, though, the Tifas, I mean, you love those girls, you know, and like uh sometimes the friendship of Takotapue people, whether it's you know, Fakawahine or you know, um that can sometimes be enough love to keep us going.

SPEAKER_00 47:42

I think that is like a huge reason I like yeah. I would love to be in love, but yeah, I feel sort of like there's more than enough love in my life.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

In your life, yeah. Because your writing too probably is a little it flows more because you're not do you know like honestly, I think like love, like career would just slow down.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

Yeah, what would yeah, and you don't want that, you've only just begun, really. It is nice not having any anyone to sort of have to call upon or yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:28

I love find stuff as I am it would be nice, of course, yeah. Even at my stage in life, it would be nice, but then you know I've got a lovely Nedu, his name is um Hordimi Kaidi, I named him after George Michael. I love him, yeah, and I love him very much, and um I've got uh I just interviewed uh uh uh fuck away near niece of mine, Ushi, the other day, and she talked a lot about her netball because she's always been very sporty, but she does this annual show called Sisters United in Kitty Kiddidoa, and I used to do a lot of sort of red carpet fashion events, and um they were like, Oh, Uncle, we want it to be like old school, like we used to do. Did you want to come and do a fashion police? And I said, Oh, I don't want to be a fashion police anymore, but I do want to do the red carpet thing. I'd love to, but I'd rather uplift now, you know, than criticize. So I'm really looking forward to that. This has just been wonderful. This is exactly everything you answered. So many questions that I've always wanted to know. Um I believe it has nothing to do with you. 23 in August this year. So you're a Virgo? Uh I'm a Leo. Oh, that'll be another reason why. So yeah, I'm an Aquarian, and Virgos and sorry, uh, Leos and Aquarians are direct opposites, and we've got lots to learn off each other, they say. Yeah. Um so to end, I do this with everybody. To end, I just do I have I end uh with five fast questions, fire five final questions, I call them. And um, so you don't have to think about them too much, but you can think about them as much as you like. Uh the first one, you've already answered this, but what is your superpower?

SPEAKER_00 50:27

Yeah, Tangatapu, tanga, umari, the superpower, and music, I would say.

SPEAKER_01 50:37

Uh when do you feel most powerful?

SPEAKER_00 50:40

On stage. On stage, but specifically singing with a group of people.

SPEAKER_01 50:47

A wire title musical that shaped you?

SPEAKER_00 50:52

Oh there's so many.

SPEAKER_01 50:59

Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 51:01

No, I love it. Um, I would say probably yeah, Hair Spray was probably like the first musical that I found as a kid, but which which version?

SPEAKER_01 51:16

Um the 2000 and I think it was 2008. The John Travolta version, not the divine version. Yeah, yeah.

unknown 51:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:26

Have you seen the divine version?

SPEAKER_00 51:28

I have, yes. Actually, I remember watching it. Like I watched it a year ago as a kid. This is so different.

SPEAKER_01 51:38

All the divine movies are outrageous. Yeah, she is, yeah, yeah. She's a legend. Totally. Uh, one word that describes your fucker papa.

SPEAKER_02 51:50

Um water the lake.

SPEAKER_01 51:59

Yeah, of course. Too far a tour. Yeah. Your grandmother will be proud of you for saying that. She'll be listening. Yes. Uh, what will Rodeti be named uh known for? Uh telling stories. Yeah. And that's what you've just done tonight, told a story for us, which I I really appreciate. Um, I'm still getting over the fact that you're only 23. So when did Hangua come out? How old were you then? 22. Yeah, I yeah, I was 22. Yeah. Just brilliant. I love that. Yeah, and I can't wait until you start when you take that on tour. And um, I'm so grateful that you've joined me tonight. Anything else you want to say, lastly, to like your younger self?

SPEAKER_00 52:57

Uh yeah, to my younger self. Um yeah, very proud of you. And yeah, keep doing what you're doing. It's cheesy, but yeah. And any final words? Yeah, just thank you so much for having me. This has been such an awesome corridor, and yeah, I've sort of been quite go go go lately. So it's nice to actually just stop and take a moment to sort of reflect on on life. And yeah, I am, and also yeah, it's just been awesome to to talk with you. And yeah, you're so good at sort of like holding, yeah, caught it all.

SPEAKER_01 53:44

Oh, I used to practice news uh news and uh presenting when I was a child. Yeah, I love it. So I just taught myself, you know. I always wanted to be a news reader, and I also loved Miss Universe. You know, I love to be the host of Miss Universe and Mr. Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah, it's true. Thank you so much, Lariti. Uh Kakita No.