Ancient Greek legend gets a Pacific makeover

Pacific storytelling blends with Greek tragedy in a new theatre show touring Auckland and Wellington.

​(m)Orpheus centres on the son of Apollo, Orpheus​, a man devoted to love but struggling to find it within.

And for this retelling of this ancient tale, the New Zealand Opera and Pacific contemporary dance company Black Grace have teamed up to present a reimagined dance-opera of Christoph Gluck’s eighteenth-century Orpheus and Eurydice​.

The play, which is directed and choreographed by creative entrepreneur Neil Ieremia (ONZM), interweaves Pacific ceremony and traditions, to tell of how Orpheus struggles to cope with the loss of his wife, leading him to venture to "the underworld" to attempt to reunite with her.

​One of the eight sopranos in the show is Tongan singer Emeline Mafi, who spoke on ​PMN Tonga ​with host John Pulu.

Mafi says applying a Pacific context to the original material is a relatable twist for the cast and audiences.

"We've put a Pacific lens on it. The underworld for example in the original story, we don't look at it through a Western lens, we're looking at it through a Pacific lens.

"So we just imagine we're transcending into Pulotu. It's not a scary place, it's just different."

Selling out their first of four Auckland ASB Waterfront Theatre shows, ​(m)Orpheus is set to play at Wellington's Opera House from September 20.​

Auckland tickets are available here​ and at Ticketmaste​r​ for the Wellington showings.