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Published 1994
Hone Kouka's play Nga Tangata Toa ('The Warrior People') was first presented at Taki Rua Theatre in Wellington in 1994. It is set on a marae on the East Coast in 1919, when a soldier returns from the war. He is seen as a hero, but is weary of war. With his wife he visits Paikea, a rangatira. Paikea's niece welcomes him, but hopes he will help her gain revenge for the murder of her father.
Nga Tangata Toa was heralded as a masterpiece of New Zealand theatre.
Hone Kouka (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu) MNZM is an acclaimed Māori writer, producer and director. He has had plays produced in South Africa, Britain, Hawai'i, Canada, Australia, Japan, New Caledonia, as well as throughout Aotearoa, with three plays translated into French, Japanese and Russian. His plays include Ngā Tangata Toa, Waiora: Te Ūkaipō, The Prophet and Bless The Child. In 2004, Hone co-founded the production company, Tawata Productions, focusing on the development and presentation of new theatre by Māori and Pasifika artists. Hone became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Contemporary Māori Theatre in June 2009.
