John Tapu Mairai (28 November 1945 – 22 December 2023) was a French Polynesian poet, actor, orator, playwright, teacher, journalist, and broadcaster. He was a pioneer of Reo Tahiti theater and a member of the Tahitian Academy.
Biography
Mairai was born on 28 November 1945 in Papeete,[1] and grew up in Mataiva in the Tuamotus.[2] He was educated at Lycée Paul-Gauguin in Tahiti[2] before studying fine arts at Graceland University in the United States.[3] On returning to French Polynesia he worked as a sailor, before joining the Territorial Office for Cultural Action.[2] In 1983 he founded the theater company Teata Maruao ("theatre of the dawn"),[4] and in 1987 produced Maro Putoto, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth in Reo Tahiti.[3] In 1992 he produced Te Manu Tane, a Reo Tahiti adaptation of Molière's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme.[3] He also produced other plays based on Tahitian history, including "Opuhara" and "Tavi roi et la loi".[3] He later worked as a sports journalist, as editor of Les Nouvelles, and as a television presenter for Tahiti Nui Television.[2] From 1999 onwards, he taught at the Artistic Conservatory of French Polynesia.[4]
