Rangimārie
Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua
When man disappears from sight, the land remains
The creative vision of this piece is both timely and expansive. Rangimārie is set in the future and explores people's relationship to the whenua (land), wai (water) and te moana (the sea), and considers our role as kaitiakitanga (guardians), the links that bind us to each other, and our past and future.
Materially, this 90-minute long piece of music theatre will run counter to traditional Western music performance norms. Rangimārie will blend new interactive sound technology and contemporary instrumental performance techniques with traditional Māori vocal, instrumental and dramatic performance practices.
Composer and songwriter, Tuirina Wehi and I have been composing music and lyrics for this piece on and off for several years. The waiata in the piece are about to be recorded with Joost and Chris at Big Pop Studios, my colleague at the University of Auckland, John Kim and Steve at Rattle Records. The project has significantly expanded from its early beginnings as a short 25-minute work, thanks to the excellent support and input from contributors including Cameron Rhodes, Waimihi Hotere and Antonio Te Maioha.
Dramatic Setting:
Not heeding the warnings three decades earlier, the human race is fighting to survive. Much of the Pacific is now all ocean. Great storms beat and batter the remaining land masses. Huge tides periodically sweep inland, and destructive storms are commonplace. Aotearoa is no different. Many people have had to abandon living along parts of the coastline.
Rare earth minerals and metal have become a highly sought-after commodity as people become more and more reliant on alternative technologies and energy production. Due to the soaring price of rare earth ore, a multi-national mining company wants to open a mine near Rangimārie, a small coastal settlement. To gain approval, the mining company must first prove their original mine did not pollute the river at Rangimārie. Jackson the mining company manager asks a hydrologist, Malloy, to urgently travel there to test the water. Unknown to them, she has strong family connections to Rangimārie.
Two cousins, Te Ariki and Marama, who whakapapa to the local hapū have heard of the mining company’s plan and decide to travel back to the coast and find out what they are up to. Flash floods and tidal surges have destroyed much of the original coastal settlement. Only a small group of people live there.
Te Ariki, Marama, Jackson and Malloy, along with her teenage daughter, Aelish, all arrive at Rangimārie on the same day. A major storm is forecast to hit the coast in two days. Time is running out. After their first meeting, the hydrologist’s family and tangata whenua realise they are bound together by past events. With the help of a local kaumātua, they begin to solve a mystery concerning the deaths of two environmental protestors seven years earlier. Tension builds as each character confronts their history of guilt and denial. Who will save the sacred puna waiora?
