As Hawaiian History Month draws to a close, The Conversation wanted to spotlight an event that began decades ago.
In 1993, writer Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl was asked to write a play commemorating the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The script she produced was a sprawling pageant performed over several days for thousands of people.
When Kneubuhl was approached about mounting the production again, she decided to pen a shorter version that could be performed as a walking tour in the physical spaces where much of the story takes place.
That became “Mai Poina: The Overthrow,” which was performed every year on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace until the COVID pandemic came along.
The show is back this year, and HPR spoke to Kneubuhl about the history and intention behind the show.
“The material in 'Mai Poina' is extremely important to me,” Kneubuhl said. “It was a history that I was totally denied when I was growing up. I really didn't know anything about those events or those issues until I went to college, and I started looking into it like other people my age did."
"So when I started to actually learn about all these events, I think part of that experience as a child reinforced my commitment to wanting other people to know about them too.”
HPR also spoke with a couple of the actors, Alaka‘i Cunningham and John Wat, about what the experience means to them.
Cunnigham plays the first interpreter, offering historical context to help the audience understand the events that follow.
“Often when you perform a piece you know where it takes place, and you have to use your imagination to put yourself in that perspective, but being able to actually perform it here on the palace grounds, you can feel the mana, you can feel the history surrounding you,” Cunnigham told HPR.
“I feel like it's almost infectious, like the energy. It bleeds into the performance and it bleeds into the audience. Everybody can feel it, and it really gets people in the correct mindset to see the story."
This story aired on The Conversation on Sept. 29, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this story for the web.
