I AM

Powerful, immersive and visionary, I AM is the latest internationally acclaimed creation from MAU and the brilliant artistic mind of Samoan-New Zealand director, Lemi Ponifasio. I AM questions our humanity, faith and redemption. Colin McCahon’s expressive painting victory over death 2 (1970) dominates the work. Frighteningly beautiful projections loom large behind the performers. I AM is hypnotic and spectacularly lit by Helen Todd.

Ponifasio’s unbending directorial conviction and distinctive aesthetic make MAU one of the world’s most innovative visual-theatre companies. Garnering accolades from audiences and critics in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia and the Pacific, MAU’s trademark, genre-defying performances challenge our experience of theatre. I AM comes to the Auckland Arts Festival after its world premiere at the Festival d’Avignon and seasons at the Edinburgh International Festival and Germany’s Ruhrtriennale and Santiago a Mil, Chile.

Co-produced by Auckland Arts Festival, Festival d’Avignon, Ruhrtriennale —International Festival of the Arts, the Edinburgh International Festival and Santiago a Mil International Theatre Festival.

Photograph: Christophe Raynaud de Lage

With generous support from the First World War Centenary WW100 through the Creative New Zealand WW100 Co-Commissioning Fund

6 March – 7 March

Mau directed by Lemi Ponifasio

ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, Auckland