TĀRORE

This is the spine-tingling retelling of the story of a young girl called Tārore, who was killed in 1836 when her village was attacked by a group of Arawa raiders. It’s also the story of her murderer, Uita, and the reconciliation that took place after Tarore’s father forgave him. The act of forgiving was inspired by the story in the book that had hung around Tarore's neck - and that story later inspired warring tribes to choose peace instead of violent retribution - a remarkable part of NZ’s history.

 

Vividly retold by writer John Cowan and voiced by Rangi Kipa, the music and sound design by Phil Yule bring emotion and theatre-of-the-mind to this historically true and moving account.

 

Tārore featured during a 12-hour ‘Good Friday’ radio special, funded by NZ On Air, which aimed to communicate the relevance of the Christian story, remembered by many New Zealanders at Easter. This particular segment, hosted by Petra Bagust and Pio Terei, discussed the power of stories to shape lives, and in particular, the spread of Te Rongopai - the extraordinary intersection of the Christian Gospel and Maori faith in the early 1800s.

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The airing of this story prompted enthusiastic listener feedback.