Purapurawhetū

When someone special dies, their spirit joins the others in a wild tango across the night sky.


Purapurawhetū is a masterpiece of New Zealand theatre.

The town of Te Kupenga has been tainted by a tragedy that happened 30 years ago. Tyler is an outsider who wants to fit in. As Tyler helps weave the tukutuku panel for the new wharenui, new faces and old demons haunt Te Kupenga. Tyler must weave together the secrets of the past in order to save his town from collapsing all over again...

'Grace-Smith's poetic language and imagery, her complex characterisation and the sure hand with which she blends the epic and the mundane, humour and tragedy, make this play of suffering and redemption speak to us all in our hearts and minds.'—The Dominion