GUY VAN EGMOND (He/They)
Tecuani has to be, hands down, one of the most impressive shows of this year’s Fringe Festival. Bringing together a cast of Toi Whakaari and NZSD graduates—with a crowdfunded budget of over $12,000—so it makes sense that it orbits in a different sphere to other Fringe projects. It’s rich in technical and cultural detail, and expertly put together. The worldbuilding is vibrant and the cast deeply invested, but I couldn’t emulate that investment quite as strongly. Tecuani had a lot to say, but some artistic choices meant that a lot of the deeper symbolism passed me by.
The narrative follows Mētztli (Steffany Silva-Delatour), a young girl living in a 22nd-century Mexican village with her brother Huitzilopchtli (Te Hāmama Hohua). Their peace and innocence is shaken by the arrival of two conquistadores (Margot Coleman & Tia Ormsby), who interfere when Huitzilopochtli becomes the honoured sacrifice in the Nemontemi ceremony. As her world is upended, Mētztli flees into the jungle, where she meets the titular jaguar spirit (Taipuhi King) who helps her find the spiritual power to free her people from colonial subjugation.
Mancilla’s debut had a classic backbone that hit the beats of the ‘hero’s journey’, but I’ll freely admit that I missed a lot of nuance. And I don’t think this is a fault of the show nor the audience, or indeed at all. Is Wellington the most appropriate city to present an artistic exploration of Mexico’s colonial history to? Probably not. But if no-one created any art until the time and place is right, then next to nothing would ever be produced. Had every cultural detail been translated and laid bare for our understanding, then the show might as well be another lecture. Instead, it’s lively and intriguing; I found myself discussing our interpretations with my friends in the lobby afterwards and, later, googling the rules of Juego de Pelota.
This liveliness and care is abundantly clear in the cast’s performance. They are a powerful ensemble, combining dance and theatre together with palpable love for each other and their story. There is anger, there is grief; all of it channeled into movement. The choreography (by Anya Down, Emilio Mancilla, and Sophie Sheaf-Morrison) is meticulous, most especially the inventive and daring lifts.
For these highs, unfortunately, there are lows too: small details that cut deep holes in the show’s weight. While I get the idea of tackling language barriers by speaking neither English, Spanish nor Nahuatl, the repetitive, monosyllabic speech they do use often results in grunting or screaming, which undermines the refined performances. The marketing and set-up of this show as a futuristic interpretation confuses me as well; besides the monochrome set design (by Asha Barr, Murphy Cody & Nathan Arnott), this narrative choice doesn’t feature nor seem to matter. There’s definitely room for the piece to grow and become a comprehensive and self-contained narrative that tells a wholly unique story.
I do hope the show gets that room to develop further. Practically, it’s beautiful to look at and the story is stretching to connect beyond its solid foundation. There’s clearly a great backing of artistic and financial support behind it: strong momentum to keep going. Regardless of whether it will or not, Tecuani is a very polished, high-quality and professional show, serving as a proof that local performance art absolutely has the possibility to be viable and exploratory, even now. While it may not have landed with me so strongly, I respect the space it holds as a beautiful, multicultural and -disciplinary, debut work of art.