About this Event
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School presents Whaea Kairau: Mother Hundred Eater by Apirana Taylor, as part of our 2026 Double Bill season.
Aotearoa, the 1840s. The land is fracturing, and one woman will do whatever it takes to survive. Whaea Kairau is dispossessed, displaced, and utterly without illusion as she navigates the chaos of the New Zealand Wars not with nobility, but with a cunning eye for opportunity.
Apirana Taylor's landmark Māori theatre classic is black-hearted and uncomfortably funny. A journey through colonisation's darkest chapters that refuses to offer easy villains, easy victims, or easy answers.
Together with Van Badham's Animal Farm, they form an unmissable double bill from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, one that refuses to look away from the oldest story in the book: who gets power, who loses it, and who pays the price.
We invite you to witness the bold work of our students across Acting, Production, Design, Costume, and Set & Props construction, and come away with more questions, more fire, and more hope than you arrived with.
By arrangement with Playmarket NZ
Whaea Kairau: Mother Hundred Eater | Recommended for ages 14+
Contains references to war, colonial violence, death, coarse language, and themes of colonisation and racial conflict.
Special School Group Price - Enquire by contacting [email protected]
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Te Whaea - National Dance & Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Road, Wellington, New Zealand
NZD 15.00 to NZD 40.00






