Rawiri is a New Zealand Māori with some Irish and English heritage mixed in. He was born in his tribal homeland of Hokianga in the Far North of Āotearoa, New Zealand before moving to Otara, in South Auckland. Rawiri began working with The Globe when he joined the International Artists Fellowship. Since then he has performed there in ‘Romeo & Juliet’ & ‘Helen’ (2009) and King Lear (2013). In 2012 his company, Ngākau Toa, brought a production of ‘Troilus & Cressida’, which was performed in the Māori language, to open the Globe to Globe Festival.