Jake Tupu & Talia-Rae Mavaega

Programme Directors

E. sexwise@theta.org.nz

Jake Tupu & Talia-Rae Mavaega are our wonderful co-directors for Sexwise 2025, following on from their work as co-directors in 2024 and as touring cast members from 2022-2023. We are honoured to have such hard-working, talented and passionate creatives and advocates as a part of the THETA whānau.

Jake Tupu (he/they/ia) is a NZ-born Sāmoan Theatre practitioner with over 10 years experience. Jake trained with Massive Company in Tāmaki-Makaurau where he developed his passion for devising and physical theatre. Since then, Jake has been working full-time as an independent theatre actor, director, and Massive tutor across Aotearoa. Coming from a culture that is rich in oral traditions, Jake believes in the power of storytelling and understands that it can change the world. Jake is currently a core member of Y|NOT Theatre Collective based in Ōtautahi.


Talia-Rae Mavaega (she/they) is a Sāmoan theatre practitioner from Ōtautahi and Tāmaki-Makaurau. Talia-Rae graduated from the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts (PIPA) in 2015 and has since worked professionally as an actor and director in devised, applied, and traditional theatre. Over her career, TR has discovered a passion for creating accessible theatre in unconventional spaces and believes that theatre can and should be made anywhere and everywhere. Talia-Rae has worked as an actor for Sexwise for the past 2 years and holds the utmost confidence in today’s rangatahi and the future they will create.