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Hone Kouka

HONE KOUKA  (1968 - )

 Nationality:    New Zealander
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a


Hone Kouka: Ngati Porou, Ngati Kahungungu, Ngati Raukawa, was born in Balclutha in 1968, and raised in Rangiora, the potiki of a large whanau. In Dunedin he attended King's High School and Otago University, graduating in 1988 with a Bachelor Of Arts in English. In that year he also co-ordinated the first production of John Broughton's: Te Hara - The Sin. He went on to study in Wellington at Te Kura Toi Whakaari o aotearoa: The New Zealand Drama School, graduating in 1990. Hone has worked as a sawmiller, forestry worker, journalist, actor and director but is best known as a playwright. as well as writing for theatre, he appeared in several plays at Taki Rua/Depot Theatre in Wellington. Hone is also well known for his play Waiora which premiered at the 1996 International Festival of the Arts and went on to tour Brighton, UK, and for three months in New Zealand. He is also known for his play Nga Tangata Toa based on Ibsen's The Warriors at Helgeland which premiered in 1994 and ahi Kaa - Homefires which premiered at the 1998 International Festival Of the arts. He has won a string of New Zealand's most prestigious playwriting awards including three Chapman Tripp Theatre awards, and since his Writer In Residency at Canterbury University in 1996, lectures in Maori Theatre on an annual basis. Hone also writes for television, has acted as a script advisor and has written a novel. He has furthermore worked on Te Kakano - a Maori language series for ETV in 1997 and has edited a collection of Maori Plays for Victoria University Press.

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below is a list of Hone Kouka's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

 Five Angels         Grey         He Waki         Hide 'N' Seek         Homefires         I, George Nepia         King Hits         Mauri Tu         Mokemoke         Nga Tangata Toa         Peach And Terry         Prophet, The         Remembrance Of Things To Come         Rivermouth         Taiki E         Tu         Tuakana Tuahine         Waiora : Te-U-Kai-Po (The Homeland)         Whakakotahi

Five Angels

Synopsis:
George anahera wants to start a band with his brothers and sisters as back-up.Their first gig is a flop, harsh words are exchanged followed by tragedy. George cannot accept this fate until his siblings back him up one last time. Fantastical and moving. (With music)

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Taki Rua    1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, New Zealand   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Grey

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Taki Rua    1997

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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He Waki

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
wriiten by Hone Kouka, Aprinana Taylor And Erina Toi Paku

1st Produced:
Australian University Tour    1992

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hide 'N' Seek

Synopsis:
a Drama about the search for identity and the truth in the face of prejudice.

Notes:
written by Hori Ahipene And Hone Kouka

1st Produced:
Taki Rua    1992

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, New Zealand   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Homefires

Synopsis:
Two estranged sisters are reunited at home to explore the shadows of their history and the secrets of their lives.

Notes:
written by Hone Hurihanganui And Hone Kouka

1st Produced:
-    1998

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, New Zealand   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I, George Nepia

Synopsis:
When I hear others debating who will play fullback for the Kingdom of Heaven versus the rest, I turn to stone. It is not me a question of whether Nepia was the best fullback in history. It is a question of which of the others is fit to lace up his Cotton Oxford boots. Denzil Batchelor, English Rugby Journalist. St Helens, Swansea, Wales 1982. The crowd roars as an elderly man dapper in a long coat, walks purposely out onto the field. all stand and cheer as he acknowledges them. Singing rises. He is George Nepia. I, George Nepia celebrates the life of an East Coast boy who became one of New Zealand s most revered rugby players. a farmer, a singer, a rebel, a husband, a father, an invincible. I, George Nepia. The spirit of a different age.
- www.theatreview.org.nz

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Circa Two, Wellington    07 Sep 2011

Organisations:
Tawata Productions

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
75 min play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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King Hits

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Taki Rua    1995

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mauri Tu

Synopsis:
Inspired by a newspaper article about a young Maori asking to be tried on the Marae, Maori Tu tells the story of Tero, a man alienated from both Maori and Pakeha culture exploding into violence. short auto performace developed at Drama school

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Dunedin    1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
aoraki Press, Christchurch, 1992   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mokemoke

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Dunedin    1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Nga Tangata Toa

Synopsis:
East Coast 1919. From all parts of the country whanau travel to their marae at Onehura to celebrate the return of a war hero, their warrior brother Taneatua. But the shifting sands yield secrets - guilt, family honour and unfulfilled longings. Based on The Vikings by Henrik Ibsen.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Taki Rua    1994

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Wellington, Victoria University Press, 1994   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Peach And Terry

Synopsis:
a middle age couple and their son are forced to talk to each other when their car is stranded on a country road.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Dunedin    1997

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, New Zealand   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Prophet, The

Synopsis:
Five teenage cousins have returned to their 'home' on the East coast for another cousin's unveiling (headstone ceremony). Over the three days there, they deal with the new roles they must accept as adults. With the backdrop of basketball, cool urban sounds and the beautiful East Coast of the north island, The Prophet is moving, funny and definitely unforgettable.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
New Zealand International Arts Festival

1st Published:
Huia Publishers   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Remembrance Of Things To Come

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written by Hone Kouka And Sue Morrison

1st Produced:
Taki Rua    1992

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Rivermouth

Synopsis:
The evening begins as a celebration of the old gang ten years on and ends as an unsettling night of revelations of both past and present.

Notes:
written by John Vakidis And Hone Kouka

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, New Zealand   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Taiki E

Synopsis:
a touring band has some serious problems with drugs. Suitable for teenage audiences.

Notes:
written by John Vakidis And Hone Kouka

1st Produced:
Tour of NZ secondary schools    1997

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, New Zealand   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth audience One act

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tu

Synopsis:
Patricia Grace's award-winning novel Tu is the inspiration for a new play by celebrated playwright and directorHone Kouka for the New Zealand International arts Festival. a sweeping family Drama, Tu brings redemption to a man in exchange for his long-held burden. For the novel, Grace (Ngati Toa, Ngati Raukawa, Te ati awa) drew on the experiences of her father as a member of the 28th Maori Battalion in Italy during WWII. Grace is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's finest novelists and short story writers. Tu won the Deutz Medal and the Montana award for Fiction at the 2005 New Zealand Book awards.
- www.theatreview.org.nz

Notes:
inspired by the Patricia Grace novel

1st Produced:
Pipitea Marae, Thorndon Quay, Wellington    01 Mar 2012

Organisations:
Tawata Productions

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama 120 min

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tuakana Tuahine

Synopsis:
a group of friends drive down to Wellington in a Rambler classic, but problems arise when they arrive in the city.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Wellington    1995

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, New Zealand   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth audience One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Waiora : Te-U-Kai-Po (The Homeland)

Synopsis:
The most important stereotype that Kouka was contesting in Nga Tangata Toa, however, was that of the warrior, at the time a concept foregrounded by Alan Duff's novel Once Were Warriors (1990) and its subsequent screen version in which urban violence was related to a warrior tradition. Kouka went further in modifying this warrior figure in Waiora, where toughness and resilience are central male qualities but are not confused with brutality. Here the occasion seems quite innocent- a family birthday celebration on a beach in 1965-and the action is continuous and unified, a contrast with the fragmented, sometimes frenetic texture of Nga Tangata Toa. at its core is the patriarch, outwardly a grumpy middle-aged man, but more deeply a repository of tensions generated by a life of cultural denial and territorial displacement. His status in turn has a strong bearing on the play's historical situation, just before the Maori cultural revival of the 1970s, a time when the future of Maori seemed very fragile; this is contextualized by the prominence of the European mill manager, who has some control over the characters' dignity as well as their economic status. The sharpness of this historical grounding, however, is tempered by the presence of four ancestors-a vestigial presence through much of the play-who are seen and accepted as a continuous part of the present community by the Maori characters. They, voicing the claim of tradition, construct the agonistic finale over the body of a drowned girl. It is typical of Kouka's practice that by this stage in the play, management of the action is entirely in traditional Maori performance terms of haka, waiata tangi, karanga, and karakia, even when tradition itself is being contested.
Howard McNaughton

Notes:
written by Hone Hurihanganui And Hone Kouka

1st Produced:
Wellington    1996

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Huia Publishers, 1997   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Whakakotahi

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Berlin    1994

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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