FA’AAFA
BATS Theatre, The Propeller Stage, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
06/03/2018 - 09/03/2018
NZ Fringe Festival 2018 [reviewing supported by WCC]
Production Details
Created by Pati Solomona Tyrell
Poetry by Samoan poet Tusiata Avia
FAFSWAG
“Born to disrupt I am Samoa’s only freedom, her last resistance, Fa’atama, Fa’afafine, Fa’aafa: we who live in between”
“A body realising itself in the present whilst warping and pushing traditional and ancient movement is an important event, a disruption in itself” – Jahra ‘Rager’ Wasasala – The Pantograph Punch.
Fa’aafa combines Samoan oral traditions, adornment, movement and sound. Juxtaposed against the colour and contrast of modern digital projection, Fa’aafa creates a gripping and responsive Samoan fāgogo (fable) for young urban polynesians. Created by digital native Pati Solomona Tyrell this work unveils a world known only to Samoans through whispers.
As a lens based media artist Tyrell’s story telling is immersive and world building. At its centre is his body, his culture and his community. Described in the image note for the publication Black Marks on the White Page edited by Witi Ihimaera and Tina Makereti, Fa’aafa is referred to as “A portal into another world, its colours saturated by night and desire and the youthful swagger of its subjects, whose eyes issue a challenge and invitation”
Devised in 2015 as a solo performance Fa’aafa has travelled across Aotearoa for the past two years as a cultural Acti-VA-tion; a term coined by iconic Pacific artist Rosana Raymond. The ‘VA’ refers to a Samoan philosophical understanding of space as ‘active’, not as empty and passive, but activated by people, relationships and reciprocal obligations.
Featuring a new cast of emerging and established performers, and an entirely new soundscape and visual design, with poetry by award winning Samoan poet Tusiata Avia,Fa’aafa will adorn a new silhouette for a new audience.
The Creative Team
FAFSWAG is an arts collective working collaboratively to activate public and digital space with innovative interdisciplinary work from emerging and established indigenous LGBT artists.
Featuring Joey Tinai, Falencie Filipo, Moe Laga. With poetry by renowned Samoan poet Tusiata Avia.
BATS Theatre, The Propeller Stage
6 – 9 March at 6:30pm
Full Price $22 | Concession Price $16
Fringe Addict Cardholder $15
BOOK TICKETS
Theatre , Spoken word , Digital presentation , Cultural activation , Physical ,
1 hr
Seductive, contemporary and beautiful
Review by Donna Banicevich Gera 07th Mar 2018
Last night Wellington was privy to a truly evocative and emotional experience with the opening of Fa’aafa at BATS Theatre as part of the Wellington NZ Fringe Arts Festival. This production transforms The Propeller Stage into another place in time taking the audience into the world of whispers and stunning Samoan storytelling.
Created by Pati Solomona Tyrell, the work combines Samoan oral traditions with adornment, movement and sound. The attention to detail is meticulous, and this contemporary production is a true work of art.
As you enter the dark theatre a single blue light draws your eye to a solitary body, apparently lifeless, lying on the floor. Three panels provide the backdrop; projected moving eyes in black and white flicker across the screens. It’s mesmerising. As the body slowly begins to move the light catches black and gold feathers, ruffled by whispers. And this is only the beginning.
Scenes are changed through stunning lighting, moving digital projections, differing beats, amazing costuming and spoken word poetry. There are the sounds of water – soft at first but building into projected crashing waves on a shoreline. Lush green bush and foliage. Flickering flames and floating embers.
The dancers – Falencie Filipo, Moe Laga, Joey Tinai and Tyrell – are all impressive, showing total control and commitment throughout, executing every movement made in unison. The silhouettes, the muscle control, the extensions of their arm and hand movements are faultless.
The provocation of Tusiata Avia’s poem ‘My Body’ unveils the secrets behind the work. Agreed – our bodies are not an apology, our bodies are waterfalls of flesh; “A net made of skin dwelling on earth amongst us”. This Samoan story is a journey of the body.
Fa’aafa. To be. A work that is seductive, contemporary and beautiful on so many different levels. It shouldn’t be missed.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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