He Māori?

“This is not just a play for those who are finding their identity as Māori; it is a powerful testament to the enduring quest for something we are all, in one way or another, searching for: belonging.” – Theatreview Life as the colonised and coloniser. In He Māori?, Īhaka Martyn will lead the audience on a journey from total confusion to partial understanding – weaving together elements of stand-up comedy, waiata, and theatrical performance to explore the doubt, celebration, and complicated nature of identity. Fresh off four years of touring Aotearoa New Zealand, through schools and theatres alike, this flightless Kiwi is bringing the story back to where it began - Ōtākou. He aha? He Māori? Is he? Maybe – it depends. Bio Īhaka Huia James Martyn (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Te Arawa, Ngāti Raukawa; Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales) is a playwright, actor, and until recently the Script Coordinator at He Rōpū Tautoko Tito Whakaari o Aotearoa, Playmarket. I tipu ake ia ki Tāmaki-makau-rau, e noho ana ia ki Pōneke ināianei. He studied Music and Theatre at Otago University and a Masters in Scriptwriting at the IIML at Te Herenga Waka. His most recent artistic credits are writing the debut season of The Aotearoans in Kia Mau Festival 2025, playing 'Billy' in Ella Yiannoutsos' No No No in 2024/25, and multiple seasons of his autobiographical solo piece, He Māori? from 2022-2026. Īhaka has been making stuff and breaking legs in theatres around the motu since he was a kid, and is always delving for what tugs at the puku.