Kia orāna, mālō nī, ni sa bula vinaka, tālofa lava, fakaalofa lahi atu, mālō e lelei!
It would be amazing if Wellingtonians could show their support for playwright, performer, and waka voyager Faumuina Felolini Maria Tafuna’I by bringing your friends and whanau to one of the performances of the award-winning theatre show “My Grandfather is a Canoe”.
This play is about to take NZ Fringe audiences on a voyage around the Pacific! Playwright and performer Faumuina Felolini Maria Tafuna’i say the play takes the audience across the Pacific Islands through music, poetry, and song. The Christchurch-based creative noted the most rewarding aspect is seeing the audience connect with the play.
“In Auckland, at the end of the show a group of Tokelauans danced and sang in response. Others stood to mihi and present lauga (Samoan oratory). We even had then Minister of Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni mihi to us. Best of all is to see young children enjoying this imaginary waka journey.”
So far, the play has won: Auckland Fringe Touring Award, Spirit of the Fringe, Outstanding Overall Direction, Creative New Zealand’s Outstanding Pacific Performance, and the Auckland Live and Free Your Mind Award.
Based on Tafuna’i’s debut book of poetry of the same name, the voyaging canoe traverses Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Tuvalu and Tonga until it lands in Aotearoa. It explores love, loss, climate justice and the power of indigenous knowledge.
Please do let me know if you plan to attend the show!
Have a lovely day.
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