Māori Krishna + AltarNative is an enchanting and educational double-bill of semi-autobiographical solo performance pieces.
Despite being insular and episodic, the two constituent pieces are linked by shared themes and subject matter. This connection between pieces is cemented by the audience’s involvement in the pack-away and set-up between shows, and the lack of break in performance between the pieces. The two pieces are complementary, and form a rich and complete show.
Presented first, AltarNative is an energetic and interactive performance piece, which uses the artifice of a cult seminar to explore the pros and cons of the performer’s upbringing. AltarNative details a childhood of music and dancing, of disruption and travelling, and of folk festivals and Steiner schools. Acacia O’Connor, the writer and actor of AltarNative, employs an impressive mix of song, props, physicality, and creative lighting to bring to life a dazzling array of characters and scenarios.
As the audience enters the space, we are greeted by O’Connor singing in the round and an evocative and eerie soundscape is created through the use of looping. This looped singing is a clever way to harmonise live and, although used sparsely, adds poignancy to the scenes where it is used. By contrast, O’Connor also puts some considerable recorder skills to work, to joyous and humorous effect. The piece also utilises extra-diegetic sound to heighten emotion and highlight dialogue.
From the outset, AltarNative is energetic and physical. O’Connor cartwheels and standing-long-jumps about the stage, shows-off the art of ‘style running’ and flits about between audience members. This, coupled with the singing and recorder playing, gives a compelling and infectious energy to the piece, which has the audience contributing greatly during the interactive segments. This energetic physicality is typified by the incredible character work of the Acacia/Caci/Host triumvirate. The three characters are skilfully embodied, and immediately recognisable by stature and movement, alone. Although, there is a wonderful sequence, which delineates characters, using torches and clever side-lighting.
The props were numerous and used liberally. Gemstones, fairy reading cards, chocolate coins, and written mantras were all proffered to the audience to help on the journey to a higher level. The quantity of the items, and the speed with which they are given, is reminiscent of the on-boarding techniques and ‘sweeteners’ of multi-level marketing schemes, and other such cults. O’Conner does a wonderful job of connecting with us, and persuasively gets the audience onboard ‘level 1117’ on their journey to self-belief. Enchanting and thoughtful, AltarNative ultimately leaves the audience energised and enlightened.
Māori Krishna is an intimate and informative performance piece, which weaves historical, autobiographical, and theological strands into a captivating lesson. In Māori Krishna, the writer/actor, Hone Taukiri, outlines the history of the Hare Krishna movement, describes the beliefs and tenets of the religion, and recounts his thoughts and experiences growing up immersed in this religion.
Māori Krishna starts with the resetting of the stage. The audience is present for this step, and can witness the precision and reverence with which this is done. Taukiri turns this necessary step into a sort of performative ritual, taking roughly 30 books out of a box and setting them, after inspection, on the table, alongside a portrait. This serves to recentre the space, and the audience, between the performances. After setting the space, Taukiri approaches each audience member, and makes introductions. Each audience member is greeted and asked for their name. This is earnest, and removes any pretence of barrier between audience and performer.
This addressing of, and interaction with, the audience continues. The audience are asked questions, such as ‘who am I?’, or ‘What does your name mean?’, or ‘Who has heard of the boycotts?’. The audience are invited to share their stories and interact with the books. This creates a connection with the audience that is constant throughout. This, coupled with the subject matter and method of delivery, give the impression of a lesson or a sermon.
Taukiri rarely leaves the chair next to the table of books, and spends the bulk of the piece addressing the audience on the historical context and personal experience of the Hare Krishna movement. Despite there being no change in lighting or sound, and few instances of movement around the space, the piece is engaging. Taukiri’s performance holds the audience’s attention throughout. This stripped-back, lecture-esque performance style is a good medium for conveying information which is unlikely to be widely known, and Taukiri utilises this to great effect. It is clear that Taukiri knows this material well, and is self-admittedly adept at splicing strangers’ experiences into the narratives he constructs – having worked in sales, in a past life.
Māori Krishna is a sincere exploration of formative years spent on the fringes, and an enthralling education of the desirable and undesirable elements of this lifestyle and belief system.
Both pieces of the show address the audience directly, and ask them to critically think about how to contextualise our place in the world. At the heart of both pieces is a question about identity, of how we can go about defining ourselves and our relationship to the world, when our upbringing and experiences seem to differ so much from those around us. It is important to also highlight the name of this show, Māori Krishna + AltarNative, which centres both religion and tangata whenua in each morpheme. Both pieces incisively and compellingly portray the ups and downs of being raised away from the mainstream, and the reclamation of identity. The show is hauntingly earnest and deeply compelling.
Māori Krishna + AltarNative plays at Te Pou Theatre, from the 11th to the 16th of September, as part of the Kōanga Festival 202.
Leave a Reply