Revelation Valley - poetry show by Lisa Maule at BATS Theatre 5 - 9 Aug 2025

Revelation Valley is a poetry show by Lisa Maule at BATS Theatre, 5 - 9 August 2025

TICKET LINK

Experience the artistry of theatre-maker Lisa Maule and special guests in this poetry premiere.

Three years ago surrounded by books and thinking about constitutional change, Pākehā theatre maker Lisa Maule decided to write poetry.

Revelation Valley is a selection of her writing performed by Lisa with titles such as My Capitalist Stapler, Cohesion is Also a Radical Act and Is it Hate? (a poem about love).

Each night a different invited guest adds to the creativity with a taste of their own work.

Embrace unexpected laughs, challenge your norms and immerse yourself in creativity.

Each night a

different invited guest adds to the creativity. 

Tue 5 Aug - Dylan Fa’atui - Actor and community worker

Wed 6 Aug - Aische Arawelo - Dancer & educationist

Thur 7 Aug - Eru Moriarty - Year 6 student & performer

Fri 8 Aug - Heather Came (MNZM) - Tangata Tiriti, activist scholar, and crafter

Sat 9 Aug - Jim Moriarty - Director and rangatira of Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu

Lisa and Michelle are on stage together every night - word and music.

PROGRAMME

Writers note - Lisa Maule

The reason for Revelation Valley the show is that I wanted to evolve my practice as a poet and a writer, and to find ways for people to encounter my work. I am seeking feedback on what resonated with people, both in content and form. I acknowledge my amazing collaborators and guests for making it all a joyful experience. 

My goals for the season at BATS Theatre are to:

• Evolve my practice as a poet crafting spoken delivery 

• Get expressions of interest for future iterations 

• Shift people's thinking to the possibility of constitutional transformation 

• Inspire people to embrace creativity in their lives

Please take a few minutes to give some written feedback on the show. http://bit.ly/3IWaOOU

Credits

Written and performed by Lisa Maule

Music and composition by Michelle Scullion

Directed by Jim Moriarty

Guest performers: Dylan Fa’atui (Tuesday), Aische Arawelo (Wednesday), Eru Moriarty (Thursday), Heather Came (Friday), Jim Moriarty (Saturday)

All instruments played by Michelle Scullion except the drum track in the poem ‘Pee’ that is used with kind permission from Bruce Aitken

Musicians note - Michelle Scullion

I've been working with Lisa Maule for many years while she was a theatre lighting designer and operator. Now Lisa has decided to be 'walking the boards' with words. YAY!!!! I have worked for decades with poets and other performers making music to accompany their writings in many public performance situations - theatres, films, poetry reading evenings, libraries, art galleries, cafes and restaurants. It was a privilege to have worked with Sally Rodwell and Alan Brunton from Red Mole, presenter Leigh Hatherley with her magnificent voice, and many others including my own shows celebrating my poetry with music.

List of poems

1. Earth turns

2. Underground

3. Is it hate?

Personal essay excerpt: I kick a stone along the path

4. Dear future Kaharore

5. Cohesion is also a radical act

6. Karori winter

7. Revelation valley

8. Pee pee pee pee

9. Water displacement - an ongoing story

10. Fear jam - a series

11. It’s a fuck

12. Katherine-fucking-Mansfield (ALT TITLE: under the radar) 

13. The pull of the bull

14. Muddy sock - a Mother poem

15. Inspired by Aoraki (an ancestor poem)

16. Well, you will just have to be flexible then

17. Places of conflicted feelings

18. Dear Labour Party: a 2023 breakup text

19. My capitalist stapler

20. Ko wai au? Who am I?

21. A little bit

22. Jagged and rolling

Media release

Revelation Valley

MEDIA RELEASE JULY 2025​​

Theatre-maker Lisa Maule is stepping out in front of the lights for the first time to present a premier collection of poetry at BATS Theatre 5 - 9 August 2025. Revelation Valley is about creativity, Karori and questioning.

Alongside Lisa is musician and composer Michelle Scullion. This is a new creative collaboration, where spoken word and sound are happy companions. Lisa says: “Michelle brings so much experience. It has been great to create together with a range of sound and music including percussion, flutes, atmospheric backgrounds, beats and nature.”

Each night Lisa has invited a different guest to share some of their creative work. They come from different spheres of her life. Guests include Tangata Tiriti, activist scholar and crafter, Heather Came (MNZM), Aische Arawelo who explores a personal narrative through dance in the show, and Dylan Fa’atui, and actor and poet who, with an off-hand comment, sparked Revelation Valley.

Lisa started working in theatre in her late teens and has been creative her whole life but started writing poetry seriously three years ago. She had been researching history to add to Wikipedia articles and learn more about New Zealand, reading critical thinkers such as Lola Olufemi, Layla F Said, Moana Jackson, Tina Ngata and Vincent O’Malley and had joined a Tangata Tiriti Matike Mai study group... It was all very heady stuff.

Lisa says: “One day I was sitting next to my piles of books and notebooks. How do I filter and express this stuff I am ingesting? What do I do with it?”

“The words of Dylan Fa’atui popped into my head, telling me how he writes poetry. I thought, I will too. It was a revelation.”

Lisa was encouraged in her creative writing by her friend and poet Ruby Brunton, and early on they both enrolled in a New York based online course at the Warman School.

Lisa says: “The classes Ruby and I did were very early on a Sunday morning in our New Zealand timezone. In this course, as I was learning about my way of writing poetry, it was great to hear my work reflected by people from all over USA who were not familiar with a New Zealand context.”

After three years of writing Lisa now has a collection which forms the show Revelation Valley. Poems are humorous with commentary about her ‘capitalist stapler’, the need to pee, and a future vision of the suburb Karori where ‘art is everywhere’.

Another of Lisa’s collaborators the director and actor Jim Moriarty. Lisa and Jim are both on the creative paepae together as producers of Jim’s theatre company Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu and both connected over a love of poetry and storytelling. They have been enjoying this different kind of creative relationship working on Revelation Valley with Jim contributing from his wealth of directing experience. Jim is also a guest and will be sharing some of his poetry.

Lisa is thoughtful about her choices of guests and has also invited Eru Moriarty, a year 6 student and one of Jim’s grandchildren. Lisa says: “In thinking about the spread of guests I wanted a range of creativity alongside me. Eru brings a grounding quality - to feel creativity coming from kids is just so joyful for everybody.”

As to her creative voice Lisa says: “I am inspired by many poets poets including, Tusiata Avia, Karlo Mila and Alice Te Punga Somerville. I am inspired by my family and experiences and many people I have met in performing arts over my career, and also by the landscapes of Karori and Wellington that have shaped me over my life.”

7.30pm, 5-9 August 2025

BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Terrace, Wellington

TICKET BOOKINGS: www.bats.co.nz

Revelation Valley

by Lisa Maule

music by Michelle Scullion

Tue 5 Aug - Dylan Fa’atui - actor and community worker

Wed 6 Aug - Aische Arawelo - dancer & educationist

Thur 7 Aug - Eru Moriarty - Year 6 student & performer

Fri 8 Aug - Heather Came (MNZM) - Tangata Tiriti, activist scholar, and crafter

Sat 9 Aug - Jim Moriarty - Director and rangatira of Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu