WoolOn Committee member Lisa Davidson is excited to have attracted one of New Zealand’s leading names from the acting fraternity as MC this year Rural Women New Zealand WoolOn Awards - Te Kohe Tuhaka. “This is a national event that celebrates the creative talent of both locals, New Zealanders and International entrants and we are delighted to have highly recognised actor Te Kohe as our MC for this year Rural Women New Zealand WoolOn Awards” says Lisa Davidson.
Te Kohe Tuhaka, of Ngati Porou and Ngai Tuhoe descent, is an actor with a strong career in theatre whose feature film roles include Marcel in Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business and Haki in Long for New Zealand, a NZ/German Co Production, Wirepa in the critically acclaimed NZ action Adventure “The Dead Lands” directed Toa Fraser.
He is also in the yet to be released film 6 Days Directed by Toa Fraser, and is featured as the gun Shearer Caesar Poata in Lee Tamahori’s Mahana.
He was in Taika Waititi’s internationally acclaimed short film, Tama Tu, produced by Ainsley Gardiner and Cliff Curtis.
His television drama work includes the telefeatures Stolen, Billy, Eruption and What Really Happened: Waitangi, the comedy hit Find Me a Maori Bride season 1 and 2. His fluency in Te Reo is on-show in the Maori Television series Korero Mai, and in various presenting roles he fulfils for that channel.
He is remembered as the gang-connected Kingi in Shortland Street, recognised as Zave in Go Girls and is known to younger viewers as the presenter of the Cool Kids Cooking series. In another series featuring his passion for cooking, fostered in a trainee chef job while a drama student, he was a judge on the Maori Television reality show Marae Kai Masters.
His acclaimed stage performances include the Pop up globe 2017 Season of Othello in the starred role, the award winning solo show, Taki Rua’s revival of John Broughton’s classic Michael James Manaia, which he toured around the country over several years.
He travelled to the Edinburgh festival with the award-winning play “Strange Resting Places” written By Paolo Rotondo and Rob Mokaraka He played Tama-Nui-Te-Ra in two staging’s (2006 and 2007) of Tanemahuta Gray’s awe-inspiring production Maui - One Man Against the Odds. He also toured to Sydney, Tokyo, London and Paris in Mike Mizrahi’s Giant Rugby Ball Multi-Media Experience for Tourism New Zealand between 2007 and 2011.
Tickets are available from the Central Otago Visitor Centres in Alexandra, Roxburgh, Cromwell and Ranfurly or the WoolOn tickets page.
Tickets for the Rural Women New Zealand WoolOn Awards are $75 (includes food and wine). Tickets for the Alexandra New World First Look event are $45 per adult and $30 per child or senior.
Doors open at 7 pm with the show starting at 8 pm for both evening events.