Award winning writer planning a play about Maori Bishop

Aroha Awarau, an Auckland-based journalist who recently won best play at the recent Annual Script Writers Awards for his play Luncheon, says his next play is going to be about the first Maori bishop.

“A lot of great Maori writers tend to explore Maori issues in a spiritual or Maori world,” he says.

Awarau says his next play looks at the election of the first Maori Catholic bishop in New Zealand with a bit of a reality TV twist. “People can connect to that desire and want of competing for a prize.”

Despite writing full time for New Zealand Woman’s Weekly magazine, Awarau has managed to write, produce and stage the award-winning play, Luncheon, have his short films shown at international film festivals and try his hand at television production as well.

Awarau attended Hato Paora College, a boarding school in Fielding and as a 17-year-old travelled to New York to live with a Jewish family on an exchange for a year.

His final year was at Hawera High School.

“What shaped me as an artist really was my time in Hawera.”

“Especially the Ronald Hugh Morrieson [Award]. It’s that legacy that was most influential because when you’re that young you’re just writing and you really don’t know if what you’re doing is worth anything.”
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