A THEATRE MARAE KŌRERO: Incarceration, broken promises, and the pursuit of hope
Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu presents Out the Gate, a major new Theatre Marae work by Helen Pearse-Otene, directed by Jim Moriarty, with choreography by Tanemahuta Gray. Rooted in lived experience and kaupapa Māori led research, Out the Gate is a layered, embodied and communal response to the stories that follow people in the prison pipeline as they transition back to whānau and hapori.
Premiering at Pātaka Art + Museum in Porirua (Jim Moriarty’s tūrangawaewae) on 29 October, the production will tour marae, community venues and tertiary spaces across the lower North Island through 15 November. Confirmed performances and venues below. Tickets on sale by 26 September via www.terakau.org/out-the-gate
Te Rākau’s unique Theatre Marae method combines the complementary spiritual, social and political concepts of the Greek theatre and Marae into a performance hui. Out the Gate is Theatre Marae in action, created with and for the community, deliberately blurring the lines between research, performance, and public kōrero. A conversation about incarceration in Aotearoa, the work presents episodic vignettes woven together through music, waiata, choreographed movement and physical theatre.
In the rehearsal room, Te Rākau brings together a group of people from disparate backgrounds and experiences to create Out the Gate. This work features an ensemble of over 16 performers, including people with lived experience of the criminal justice system and trusted theatre practitioners working in intentional processes of care and mentorship.
In 2024 Te Rākau secured Health Research Council funding to present a play based on the TIAKI project - kaupapa Māori led research that asks: what happens to Māori following their release from prison and what do they need to thrive?
Out the Gate is the community-facing distillation of that research: the creative team has translated key themes from participants’ lived experience into dramatic form so communities, service providers, policymakers and whānau can engage with the findings in an immediate, embodied way. A companion podcast, drawing on rehearsal conversations, interviews and material from TIAKI, will be released in 2026.
Rooted in this research and decades of therapeutic practice by Helen and Jim, Out the Gate traces how childhood trauma, state care, addiction and fractured whakapapa can shape a life and how pathways to healing and reconnection are possible. The core message here is practical and humane: with appropriate support, people can change their lives and reconnect with whānau.
The play interrogates how institutions, policies and colonial legacy shape disproportionate outcomes for Māori. It calls out racial bias and intersectional disadvantage and insists that artistic practice can generate greater public understanding and pressure for systemic change.
“Some of these men and women have been in 35, 40 foster homes. How the hell do you land? The stats around that are horrible. A lot of those people then end up going to jail. Who helps you, how do you make your way through that quagmire of early institutionalisation?
The most practical way to assist is to give people not just behavioural change tools, but also skills to make a living from. The whole idea is to land people back in a space where they can reconnect with their iwi, hapū and whānau — so their children don’t run away from them in fear anymore, they run towards them. That’s the journey.
Ultimately, Out the Gate is a postulation of hope. Hope springs eternal. It’s inside people no matter how damaged they might have been by their experiences, no matter how wounded they are. We’re all basically looking for the way out.”
– Jim Moriarty, Director
OUT THE GATE plays:
Pātaka Art + Museum, Porirua (premiere) - Wed 29 Oct, 7.00pm
Māoriland, Ōtaki - Fri 31 Oct, 7.00pm
Orongomai Marae, Upper Hutt - Sat 1 Nov, 7.00pm
Wainuiomata Marae - Sun 9 Nov, 1.30 pm & 7.00pm
Massey University, Mt Cook, Wellington - Wed 12 Nov – Sat 15 Nov, 7.00pm
More venues and community presentations to be announced. Tickets on sale from 26 September 2025 at www.terakau.org/out-the-gate.
After each performance a facilitated kōrerō invites audiences to reflect, respond and contribute to the conversation. These performances are part of a wider dissemination strategy that sits alongside academic outputs from the TIAKI research project.
Out the Gate is held by a paepae of experienced Māori and Tangata Tiriti practitioners:
Writer / Kaituhituhi: Helen Pearse-Otene (Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kuri, Ngāti Ruanui) - co-founder of Te Rākau, psychologist, playwright, facilitator and researcher.
Director / Rangatira Auaha: Jim Moriarty MNZM (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kahungungu, Rangitāne) - co-founder of Te Rākau, psychiatric nurse, actor and long-time practitioner of theatre as social change.
Choreography: Tanemahuta Gray (Ngāi Tahu) - movement practitioner whose work fuses Māori physical culture with contemporary dance and theatre.
Producer & Scenography: Lisa Maule (Tangata Tiriti, Pākehā)
Costume: Cara-Louise Waretini (Ngāti Rangi, Te Atihaunui A Pāpārangi, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine)
Lighting: Janis CY Cheng (Tangata Tiriti)
Assistant Director: Regan Taylor (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Pikao)
Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu is Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest surviving independent Māori theatre company. Guided by Te Tiriti o Waitangi the organisation have worked in schools, prisons, Marae, urban and rural communities, and youth justice residencies across Aotearoa, using Theatre Marae as a tool for change. Te Rākau is a registered Charitable Trust, with a small team of kaimahi who work all year based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.
Content advisory: Some taumaha language and content may offend. Recommended for ages 14+. Whānau and tamariki welcome with parental guidance
For more information visit: https://www.terakau.org/out-the-gate