John Mairai

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]