What do we hold to be true? _{by Madelaine Empson}

In December 2023, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa became ground zero for an act of protest that shook the nation, sparking outrage and admiration, discomfort and kōrero across the motu. Te Waka Hourua, a tangata whenua and active allies direct action group, painted over the English text of the Treaty of Waitangi exhibition with the provocation “no. Her Majesty the Queen of England is the alien. ration the Queen’s veges.” While all involved faced charges, only Te Wehi Ratana was held in Rimutaka Prison.

Part courtroom drama, part prison diary, part wild, absurd kōrero, ration the Queen’s veges is the story of his 48 hours behind bars. Together with his co-writer and director Tainui Tukiwaho, Ratana built the play on letters he gathered from his fellow inmates: raw, unfiltered reflections on Te Tiriti, the Te Papa artivism, the Crown, and colonisation.

“You think you know who’s inside prison,” he says. “But when you’re in there, and you really listen, you realise: these are some of the most honest voices in the country. And they rarely get heard.”

Running at Circa Theatre from the 16^th of August to the 13^th of September as part of the TAHI: New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance and presented by Te Pou Theatre, actor Ngahiriwa Rauhina (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa) is bringing the abseiling activist’s story back to where the redaction reaped a reckoning.

Having heard about the action and thinking it was awesome, Rauhina is relishing the opportunity to tell the story of those on the frontline and the small chance to understand how people in prison feel and felt. His challenge, he laughs, lies in “trying to make sure that I am telling the story regardless of my personal political (and very sharp) opinions”.  

“Nah, one thing it’s about is trying to keep the light while revealing a darker side to how things are.”

In its Wellington debut, Rauhina hopes audiences take away a feeling of hope. “A sense of charge! To get stuck into the mahi. That a simple act can have huge repercussions and never feel like you are helpless! Just know the strength you have is enough.”