BEST FOOT FORWARD

In the first of an ongoing series, UNO chats to people who are choosing to build their lives and careers in the Bay of Plenty. Our first subject has been rapt to find a welcoming creative community ready to step right into.

WORDS HAYLEY BARNETT

Maxwell Hutton had perfectly practical reasons for leaving Auckland. His partner had a job offer and he had family already settled in Pāpāmoa. The 25-year old choreographer wasn’t chasing a scene, but Tauranga had one waiting for him anyway.

“I didn’t move down for choreography per se,” he explains. “The discovery that there was a huge creative community here was a surprising bonus.”

When Maxwell's partner Matt Cornere secured a role as a dance teacher at Mount Maunganui College, the decision to move became a no-brainer.

“We already had roots here, so it made it an easy choice.”

What the couple found was a creative scene that exceeded their expectations. Having taken up a full-time position as an office assistant at a Tauranga law firm, Maxwell’s been immersing himself in the local theatre world, choreographing, performing and building relationships.

“The theatre community here is so generous and friendly,” he says. “It’s something I can always rely on wherever I go, and here, it feels especially strong.”

Matthew and Maxwell.

Coming from Auckland, where the theatre network can feel fragmented across the sprawling city, Maxwell was struck by how connected the Bay’s theatre scene is.

“Only once I was part of it did I realise how big and engaged it is,” he says, recalling a recent 80th celebration event that drew well over 100 attendees. “There’s a real sense that people care and want to be involved.”

Perhaps, he muses, it’s not the size of the community that counts, but the quality.

“Things are happening here that even Auckland could learn from,” says Maxwell. “In terms of community involvement, Tauranga’s doing really well.”

Maxwell recently appeared in Tauranga Musical Theatre’s April–May production of Come From Away at Baycourt, before stepping in to choreograph the Dolly Parton-fuelled 9 to 5 The Musical, which opens on July 25 and runs until August 1. It was a quick turnaround that speaks to both his experience and the opportunities on offer.

Having choreographed around 10 shows in recent years, he’d arrived hopeful but realistic about how long it might take to find his feet. Instead, doors opened quickly.

He acknowledges the challenges, with young creatives heading overseas among them, but sees momentum building.

“It’s about attracting new people in,” he says.

For Maxwell and Matthew, any question marks over the move have dissolved.

“We did say, worst case, we could move back,” he admits. “But now we can definitely see ourselves here long-term.”

Turns out the worst case never came close. As our region changes from being known for retirees and summer holidaymakers, stories like Maxwell’s prove something is changing. Creativity, opportunity and a sense of community are taking up a lot more space.

Te reo rising

Reena Snook is bringing world-class, all–te reo Māori theatre to Tauranga, creating a bold new direction for Baycourt.

words SUE HOFFART photos TE POU THEATRE & THE DUST PALACE + DAVID COOPER

Work has become undeniably personal for Baycourt Community and Arts Centre manager Reena Snook. Four years into her tenure, the drama school graduate and first-year te reo Māori student is championing a production that combines a theatre and circus spectacle with dialogue entirely in te reo.

“This is something I wish a young me could have seen,” Reena says of the Te Tangi a Te Tūī performance being staged in Tauranga in August. “One reviewer called it transformative, and I’m convinced that’s true. It’s an experience that really could be pivotal for a lot of the young people we’re bringing into our theatre.”

Baycourt will host the August 6 opening night of a tour that encompasses four other North Island centres. And Baycourt is also gifting tickets to all students attending a school-only performance on August 7.

“We want to remove as many financial barriers as possible because nothing should stand in the way of rangatahi experiencing world-class performers. This young audience will hear stories grounded in indigenous culture, they’ll hear te reo Māori on stage and that’s likely to feel powerful and personal to many. Perhaps they’ll see a pathway I couldn’t imagine at their age.”

When Te Tangi a Te Tūī had its Aotearoa premiere at Te Pou Theatre in Auckland last year, Reena was immediately determined to bring the production to Tauranga. A long-standing connection to two of the project’s key creators helped: Eve Gordon of The Dust Palace and Tainui Tukiwaho of Te Pou Theatre attended drama school with Reena in Auckland.

The work also marks a strategic shift for Baycourt as the centre moves towards broadening and complementing its current programme offerings. Reena acknowledges Baycourt’s “incredibly rich history” that’s achieved so much. But, she recognises some voices and stories haven’t been as visible as others.

“As a community arts centre, we need to take deliberate steps to bring people from all parts of the community onto the stage and into the audience,” she says.

Te Tangi a Te Tūī, which tells the story of the tui’s song and its evolution over the centuries, is a positive step in that direction. “It’s the first time we’ve been able to support a professional production performed fully in te reo Māori. I love the way this show honours our Pākehā audiences too, with the cirque theatre and universal story elements ensuring it’s accessible and understandable for everyone.

“There’s no tokenism here. We’re not just putting a Māori theatre production on stage to meet a diversity quota. One of the goals is to offer Pākehā a safe entry point into te ao Māori – something they can genuinely connect with and enjoy, without feeling like they’re being overwhelmed or excluded.”

Reena shares how she has spent much of her life distanced from her Ngāpuhi roots and how a deep sense of not belonging shapes some of her story. “As someone of mixed heritage I often felt I wasn’t ‘brown enough’ to be Māori or ‘white enough’ to be Pākehā.

“That’s a tension that has informed my approach to programming and community engagement. I want to create spaces and experiences where people of all backgrounds and identities can feel recognised and valued.”

It was only after relocating from Auckland to Tauranga with husband Greg, in 2018, that Reena began closely examining her own identity. (She left a job as senior producer at performing arts platform, Auckland Live, to take up a Tauranga City Council events management position).

She speaks of an unexpected sense of connection with Tauranga mana whenua and how the warm welcome spurred her to begin tracing the threads of her whānau and whakapapa.

“It’s funny the further away I got from my tūrangawaewae in the Far North, the more I wanted to learn about my Māori whakapapa.”

Alongside her personal cultural awakening, Reena realised she missed the performing arts world and its creative people. So, when the Baycourt role came up in 2021, she pounced. Presenting Te Tangi a Te Tūī will be a career high.

“For those who still doubt the calibre of Māori theatre, this production is set to challenge that perception entirely.”

“It’s special that Baycourt is the tour’s first stop and I’m proud our local rangatahi will see themselves reflected on stage. For some in our audience, this may also be their first visit to a traditional theatre.

“It’s critical Baycourt supports work like this, so that culturally powerful storytelling reaches the communities that need to see it most.”

BAYCOURT.CO.NZ