Download Historical Overview of Theatre in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Historical Overview of Theatre in
Aotearoa/New Zealand
Polynesian Exploration
• ancestors of the Maori
arrived in Aotearoa from
East Polynesia c.800 CE
• Aotearoa = “Land of the
Long White Cloud”
• established tribal kin
groups
• remained undisturbed until
first European explorers
arrived in 17C
European Exploration
Abel Tasman, 1642
• From Holland
• employee of the Dutch
East Indies Company
• Searching for Terra
Australis Incognita, the
legendary, rich southern
land
• Encountered Aotearoa,
called it “Nieuw Zeeland”
after the Dutch province
James Cook, 1769
• British sailor and
navigator
• also sent to search for
southern land, but proved
it didn’t exist
• circumnavigated
Aotearoa/New Zealand
• interaction and trade with
local Maori
• first complete map
Cook’s Map of New Zealand
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Trade -->
Industry & commerce -->
Missionaries -->
Christian settlement -->
Immigrants -->
Systematic colonization
European Immigration 19C
• European settlement
from 1830s
• “Britain of the South”
• “classless society”
• opportunity to start
new lives
• evangelical influence:
“humane colonization”
The Treaty of Waitangi, 1840
(Te Tiriti o Waitangi)
Two Peoples, One Nation?
Drama in Aotearoa/New Zealand
• Three general periods:
– 19C Colonial drama
– 1900-1945 Amateur period
– Post-1945 Postcolonial dramatic consciousness
19C Drama of Colonization
• 1850-1900 was a period in which the dramatic text
was not particularly valued as literature
• early theatrical activity was a showcase for “Old
World” fashion
• developing cities; military camps; goldfields
• farces, melodramas, Shakespeare festivals, variety
performances, musicals, local satirical dramas
• “scenic spectaculars” (1870s-1890s)
• end of 19C = first sense of emergent local identity
Amateur Movement, 1900-1945
• rapid increase in amateur
theatre
• Repertory Theatres in
most cities
• British Drama League
• University drama societies
• realism; national identity
• Mulgan, Three Plays of
New Zealand (1920)
• The Workers’ Theatre (late
1930s)
Early Postcolonial Period
• After WWII, cultural dictates of parent culture
begin to be questioned; more complex probing of
cultural identity
• distinct signs of change in theatrical environment
• writers in other genres exploring possibilities of
the stage
• mid-1960s: Community Theatres established,
encouraged new generation of professional
dramatists
Late Postcolonial Period
• 1975: International Women’s Year; Maori Land March
• time of social change: “Maori Renaissance”
• post-1975 a new era in NZ literature. Flourishing of
women, Maori, gay and lesbian writers; writing by other
ethnic groups, such as Chinese, Pacific Island.
• drama becomes increasingly diverse; minority voices and
marginalized groups acknowledged; new issues explored;
new modes of theatrical experimentation introduced
Maori Dramatic Literature
• oral traditions until European
settlement (inc. performance)
• 1815 Maori orthography
• writing and print = profound
social change
• emphasis on English
• by 1970s, fears that spoken
Maori might be dying out
• revival programs; literacy for
pedagogical purposes
Four “Stages” of Maori Drama
• 1. (1960s/1970s) Assimilation, conforming to Pakeha
models. Works mostly in English.
• 2. (late 1970s) Questioning of cultural constructs, elements
of resistance.
• 3. (1980s) Resistance/revolt. Works that address loss of
cultural heritage, openly condemning Pakeha intervention.
“Confrontational” use of Maori language.
• 4. (1990s - present) New generation of dramatists taking
different position in relation to polycultural society; asking
new questions; Maori language used as tool for articulating
new perspectives.