Our Artistic Director Karen Grylls shares some insights into the development and ideas behind this huge new project

The initial idea of Taonga Moana was an inspiration drawn from conversations with many people about how our oceans must become sanctuaries and the need for us all to care of them. “Aranga, Aranga” comes the cry; perhaps, if we followed the kuaka (godwit) on its Spring journey south from its breeding nests in the great Siberian and Alaskan tundra to the rich feeding grounds provided by Aotearoa’s tidal flats and coastal marshes, we could embrace the oceans and thank them for allowing the earth to exist. Taonga Moana is just that; a love song to the oceans.
The journey, sung, staged and with audio and visual design, is a series of musical and visual snapshots from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Oceans and Antarctica.In response to the kuaka, Hamilton’s Karakia of the Stars, to the Sacred One, to the magellanic cloud, cries out for the new year’s growth to flourish, the Matariki, for the waters to provide.

Read more about the first section THE SEAFARERS and WHALES soon....