KAUPAPA | ABOUT

Featuring the flashest southern showband The Tekīra Mutton Birds, BE LIKE BILLY? strums up all new and original waiata, garage party classics, and old-school hits from the likes of Uncle Howie, The Prince of Jandels, and Te legend, Te master, Te chuckling funny-fala.

BE LIKE BILLY? is everything but an impersonation show. Can you Be Like Billy without being the butt of the joke?

“Spooner lays out this complexity for us in a show that starts with joy and celebration, with nostalgia, then pivots to something more complex when the audience is confronted with the division between laughing at and laughing with…” — Flat City Field Notes | Erin Harrington

Originally commissioned by The Court Theatre, produced by Metro Māori Productions and presented as part of the PANNZ (Performing Arts Network of New Zealand) touring programme.

NGĀ TĀNGATA | CAST & CREATIVES

Kaiwhakaari | Performer — Rutene Spooner
Kaitohu | Director — Holly Chappell-Eason
Kaiwhakahaere Puoro | Musical Director/Arrangements — Henare Kaa
Kaiāwhina — Juanita Hepi
Kaihoahoa Pae Whakaari | Set Designer — Rosie Gillmore
Kaihoahoa Tūrama | Lighting Design/Operator — Molloy
Audio Engineer/Company Manager — Matt Eller
Graphic Design — George Wallace
Kaiwhakahaere Whakaari | Production Manager — Emily Hakaraia (PANNZ)
Kaihautū | Producer — Metro Maori Productions Ltd
Script Advisor — Gregg Cooper
Music — Various composers
Kaitito Waiata | Original Compositions — Rutene Spooner
Drums — Henare Kaa
Guitar — Heather Webb
Base — Clayton Hiku