Leki Jackson-Bourke (born c. 1993) is a playwright based out of Auckland and is the first Pasifika playwright to win the Creative New Zealand Todd New Writer's Bursary Grant in 2018.[1][2][3]

Bourke is of Tongan-Niuean-Samoan ethnicity.[1] In their youth, Bourke attended Marcellin College.[4] Bourke then went to the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts and was pursuing a Bachelor in Pacific Performing Arts.[1][5]

Bourke coauthored the play Inky Pinky Ponky with Amanaki Prescott-Faletau in 2015 and the play was published in 2017 in Talanoa: Four Pacific Plays, an anthology of four Pacific plays by Pasifika New Zealand Playwrights.[6] In 2021, NZ on Air gave funding to Tikilounge Productions to make Inky Pinky Ponky into a series for Māori Television.[7]

In 2017, Bourke won the Auckland Theatre Award for producing Maree Webster's Niuean parody Meet the Fakas where he was also named as one of the Outstanding Newcomers, along with Julie Zhu and Bronwyn Ensor.[1][5][8] Meet the Fakas was awarded the Te Pou Theatre Award for Best Show Not Made by Pakeha (or Dirty D Word Award).[8] In 2018, Bourke was awarded the Emerging Pacific Artist Award and $5,000 for the 2018 Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Awards.[3] In 2019, Bourke was the first Victoria University Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence Award.[4][9] He wrote the play The Gangster's Paradise, which was selected as a joint winner in the teenage category for Playmarket New Zealand's 2019 Plays for the Young Competition along with Aroha Awarau's A Gaggle of Ducks .[10] Bourke was also interviewed by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples about his journey as an artist the influence Niuean culture has on his work for 2019's and 2021's Niue Language Week.[4][11]

Bourke did a placement at Q Theatre and Auckland Theatre Company with TAUTAI Contemporary Pasifika Arts.[12]

Work

Year Play Role Notes Ref
2015 Inky Pinky Ponky Co-author with Amanaki Prescott-Faletau, [13]
2017 Meet the Fakas Producer Performed at the 2017 Auckland Theatre Awards Awards [1]
2018 Just Pring It! Author [2]
2019 The Gangster's Paradise Author Performed at the Auckland Theatre Company annual HERE & NOW youth theatre festival [3][14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Downs, Sarah (4 January 2019). "The New Voice: Meet Playwright Leki Jackson-Bourke - Viva". www.viva.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  2. 1 2 Christian, Dionne (23 January 2018). "Pasifika playwright Jackson-Bourke aims to build on success". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  3. 1 2 3 "Arts Pasifika Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in Pacific Arts". creativenz.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  4. 1 2 3 "Artist reclaims and reframes Pacific narrative". Ministry for Pacific Peoples. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  5. 1 2 "Meet the Fakas | Te Oro". teoro.org.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  6. ↑ "Teenage Pacific Transgender featured in The Talano Series | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  7. ↑ "Drama reflecting different perspectives on Aotearoa – latest NZ On Air funding". www.nzonair.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  8. 1 2 "New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews - Theatreview". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  9. ↑ "Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence | International Institute of Modern Letters | Victoria University of Wellington". www.wgtn.ac.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  10. ↑ "New Zealand Theatre: theatre reviews, performance reviews - Theatreview". www.theatreview.org.nz. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  11. ↑ "Songwriter and choreographer Leki Jackson-Bourke talks to us for Niue Language Week 2021". DigitalNZ. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  12. ↑ "HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - LEKI JACKSON BOURKE". The Coconet TV. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  13. ↑ "INKY PINKY PONKY - A modern day fairy tale with teeth and claws". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  14. ↑ Nichol, Tess. "Metro — Award-winning young Auckland playwright Leki Jackson-Bourke on why he writes". www.metromag.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
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