NATIVE Minds

Internationally acclaimed actor and activist Khalid Abdalla (The Day of the Jackal, The Crown, The Kite Runner) comes to Māoriland Hub to take part in the much-celebrated talk series NATIVE MINDS which creates space for deep dialogue on pressing social and cultural issues. In conversation with Tainui Stephens, Abdalla will explore the power of art and theatre in film, story sovereignty and representation, colonisation and personal responsibility, social, economic, and cultural opportunities for diverse voices in the arts and more.

Abdalla will also be performing his intricate and playful solo show Nowhere at the Tāwhiri Warehouse from 4-7 March, inspired by his involvement in the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and his experience of the counter-revolution that followed. Nowhere brings together the personal and the political in an act of anti-biography. Tracing a path from the histories of colonialism and decolonisation; friendship and loss; protests and uprisings; to the ongoing violence in Gaza following the events of October 7th 2023, with urgency and insight, Abdalla asks how did we get here, and how can we find agency amidst the mazes of history.