Ruth Agnew reviews Kōpū, written by Tuakoi Ohia, directed by Amber Curreen with musical direction from John Gibson, produced by Te Rehia Theatre and staged at the Court Theatre, Thursday 17 July 2025.
Unpeg yourself from the patriarchy!
Kōpū begins with the instruction to “leave your white feminism at the door”, and with that baggage gone, we enter into a glorious 75 minutes with six wāhine toa (performers Brady Peeti, Te Oherere Williams, Jane Leonard, Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana and Te Arohanui Korewha and writer/performer Tuakoi Ohia). From their initial entrance singing slick six part harmonies, resplendent in luminous lycra leggings and unapologetically loud, these wāhine will not be silenced. The patriarchy can quiet down and take a seat.
Mā is white and so is your pronunciation
Ohia’s rapid fire explanation and exploration of the words ‘woman’ and ‘wahine’ is enlightening in content and impressive in form. This scene establishes an expectation that the audience keep up. As well as etymology, Kōpū educates us in mythology, genealogy, and gynaecology.
You can’t say my name? Try harder!
This is a fierce celebration of wāhine voices, bodies and minds through an interwoven series of scenes, songs and stories. Using kapa haka, spoken word poetry, rap, dance, game show, rock music, pop songs and opera, the powerhouse performers demonstrate their ability to tell their own stories in their own words, tackling taboo topics without judgement or shame.
Every time you hear my voice, you hear the echoes of my ancestors
The multi-disciplinary approach is a reflection of the different journeys each cast member has taken to reach this point. Luiten-Apirana is a singer, actor and playwright, Korewha’s introduction to performance came through kapa haka, Leonard comes from the musical theatre world, Ohia is familiar face and voice in film, Williams is an opera singer, and I think Peeti was born a fully formed iconic diva with a microphone in her hand. The musical mastery onstage is astounding, delivered with an air of ease and authenticity.
Kōpū runs at the Court Theatre until Saturday 26 July.
Flat City Field Notes 