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, and grew up in Mataiva in the Tuamotus. He was educated at Lycée Paul-Gauguin in Tahiti before studying fine arts at Graceland University in the United States. On returning to French Polynesia he worked as a sailor, before joining the Territorial Office for Cultural Action. In 1983 he founded the theater company Teata Maruao ("theatre of the dawn"), and in 1987 produced Maro Putoto, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth in Reo Tahiti. In 1992 he produced Te Manu Tane, a Reo Tahiti adaptation of Molière's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. He also produced other plays based on Tahitian history, including "Opuhara" and "Tavi roi et la loi". He later worked as a sports journalist, as editor of Les Nouvelles, and as a television presenter for Tahiti Nui Television. From 1999 onwards, he taught at the Artistic Conservatory of French Polynesia.
In July 2019 he was made a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In June 2020 he was made a knight of the Order of Tahiti Nui. In June 2020 he was elected to the Tahitian Academy.
Mairai died on 22 December 2023, at the age of 78.
References
- "Sans Tabu avec John Mairai" (in French). Polynesie 1ere. 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021.
- ^ "John Mairai, chevalier du reo tahiti" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "John Mairai Chevalier de l'ordre de Tahiti Nui" (in French). Président de la Polynésie française. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- ^ "John Mairai, chevalier de l'ordre des arts et des lettres" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- "Remise de l'ordre de Tahiti Nui à 8 récipiendaires" (in French). Présidence de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- Carnet noir – Le monde de la culture en deuil : John Mairai est décédé (in French)
- "John Mairai s'en est allé" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
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- 1945 births
- 2023 deaths
- People from Papeete
- Graceland University alumni
- French Polynesian poets
- French Polynesian male actors
- French Polynesian journalists
- French Polynesian educators
- Members of the Tahitian Academy
- Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
- Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of French Polynesia
- French Polynesian artists
- French Polynesian people stubs