Mairai with Oscar Temaru in 2017

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]

In July 2019 he was made a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.[4] In June 2020 he was made a knight of the Order of Tahiti Nui.[3][5] In June 2020 he was elected to the Tahitian Academy.[4]

Mairai died on 22 December 2023, at the age of 78.[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ "Sans Tabu avec John Mairai" (in French). Polynesie 1ere. 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "John Mairai, chevalier du reo tahiti" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "John Mairai Chevalier de l'ordre de Tahiti Nui" (in French). Président de la Polynésie française. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "John Mairai, chevalier de l'ordre des arts et des lettres" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 20 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Remise de l'ordre de Tahiti Nui à 8 récipiendaires" (in French). Présidence de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  6. ↑ Carnet noir – Le monde de la culture en deuil : John Mairai est décédé (in French)
  7. ↑ "John Mairai s'en est allé" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
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