Becoming Jeff Bezos

When you’ve opted out of the world, what does success look like? When you’re neck-deep in a system, how do you survive?

 

Nī Dekkers-Reihana (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Porou) returns after rave reviews of their performance in Tiri: Te Araroa Woman Far Walking. They will play a cog in the capitalist machine; a young woman who idealises the Amazon-founding billionaire so much that she’s changed her name.

 

She tracks down Gloria Tāwhiri, played by Nicola Kāwana (Ngāruahine o Taranaki, Rangitane o Wairarapa), most recently on our stage with Things That Matter and North by Northwest. Gloria has been living in the Southern Alps for more than 30 years. She eats dead kea, barely knows what the internet is and is very keen to keep her location secret from the government.

 

When these two characters come together in a raging alpine storm, the culture clash couldn’t be worse – and the whisky really doesn’t help. This is a hilarious and piercing critique of contemporary society from a fresh New Zealand voice.

 

Alex Medland (Kāi Tahu) is the youngest-ever winner of the Adam New Zealand Play Award. This script won a Playmarket Award in 2024 and was presented at a reading at Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival in 2026, directed by Jason Te Kare (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato).