Leki Jackson-Bourke honours his grandfather after winning Bruce Mason Playwriting Award

When Leki Jackson-Bourke wrote the stage adaptation for the film Red, White and Brass, he had his Tongan grandfather in mind.

The award-winning playwright is of Niuean, Tongan and Samoan descent, and has just been named this year's recipient of the prestigious Bruce Mason Playwriting Award at the Playmarket Accolades in Wellington this afternoon.

Since 1983 The Bruce Mason Playwriting Award has recognised the work of an outstanding New Zealand playwright.

The recipient is decided through voting by a panel of leading Artistic Directors, Producers, Theatre Programmers and Script Advisors throughout Aotearoa.

Jackson-Bourke's script for Red, White and Brass was written to a tight three month deadline in both Tongan and English, and is among the works for which he is well recognised.

"The workload wasn't overwhelming for me because I had a purpose underneath it and the purpose was really was redemption for my grandfather."

He is among the first generation of his family to be born in New Zealand. His grandparents moved here in the 1970s when the dawn raids began in Auckland.

"I just thought about when my granddad was growing up in Auckland, he couldn't speak his language in public, he was scared and he taught us to do the same," Jackson-Bourke said.

"All of those feelings encompass what that script means to me."

Red, White and Brass follows the story of two friends who miss out on tickets to an all-important rugby game and come up with a plan to get to there - forming a traditional Tongan marching band that performs at the game's opening.

The production hit the stage in July and played to more than 12,000 people. The play was hailed by Theatreview as "irreverent, heartfelt, moving and hilarious ... a play that generally defies gravity".

Jackson-Bourke has worked for performing arts companies both here and abroad and is now a freelance artist for the newly formed theatre company Strictly Brown.

His first play, Inky Pinky Ponky, co-written with 'Amanaki Prescott-Faletau, won the teenage category of Playmarket's Plays for the Young competition and later made into a film released online in 2023.

Jackson-Bourke is also the playwright behind Gangster's Paradise and Pring It On!

He said winning the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award, which includes $10,000, was an "honour" and "humbling".

"It really honours the sacrifices of my grandparents and their vision to come here to New Zealand for better opportunities," he said.

"It's a very humbling feeling and I know I represent a lot of people and a lot of communities and spaces. And so it's a win for the entire village."

It also reaffirms his chosen field, he said.

Playmarket Director Murray Lynch said Jackson-Bourke had a strong voice and brought his heritage to the stage.

"Leki's writing places the Pasifika experience stage centre. He does this with a profound sense of joy, celebration and gentle provocation."

Award-winning playwright Victor Rodger said Jackson-Bourke was leading a new generation of writers.

"He is driven by a desire to serve his community, but his works have huge crossover appeal as evidenced by the success of the groundbreaking Inky Pinky Ponky and his acclaimed adaptation of the film Red, White and Brass."

Jackson-Bourke started writing the stage adaptation for Red, White and Brass while on tour dancing in Chicago last year.

On return to Auckland, he rented a house to work in, something he often did to focus on his writing.

"It's quite nice to get a little bit of recognition after months and months of isolation," he said of what can be a lonely process.

He also often wrote in his car, away from distractions.

As for the future of playwriting in this country, Jackson-Bourke said emerging playwrights were finding their voices.

"A lot of these younger playwrights are more brave than I was at their age to discuss some of the issues that they're discussing in their plays," he said.

"I'm really excited for the future and for all the new plays that are going to be created."

In 2018 Jackson-Bourke became the first Pasifika playwright to receive the Creative New Zealand Todd New Writer's Bursary grant and won the Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Award for Emerging Pacific Artist.

In 2019 he was the inaugural Emerging Pasifika Writer in Residence at the International Institute of Modern Letters, Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington.

He also won the 2015 Auckland Is My Playground Award for Youth Leadership in Performed Arts, awarded by Auckland Council; Best Newcomer at the 2017 Auckland Theatre Awards; and the Pacific Cooperation Foundation Young Pasifika Male of Influence Award in 2020.

Jackson-Bourke graduated from the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts and has toured Aotearoa, Australia, USA, UAE, Europe and the Pacific with multiple companies, including Black Grace, Kila Kokonut Krew, FCC and Massive Theatre Company.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.