RECLAMATION
Basement Theatre Studio, Lower Greys Ave, Auckland
19/09/2019 - 05/10/2019
Production Details
Creator and Director: Elyssia Wilson Heti
FAFSWAG creatives
FAFSWAG
“Pacific womxn reclaim female pleasure through a lens of joy.
Created for a contemporary audience this work is set to unpack
the baggage of being brown, femme, proud of your body
and unashamed of owning big brown girl magic”
FAFSWAG is proud to present RECLAMATION – the debut collaborative work of performance artist and stage maker Elyssia Wilson Heti. Devised over a period of 6 months of incubation, this work is the result of an intensive development process delivered through the support of Basement Theatre’s 2019 Visions programme. Held through a series of master classes with industry veterans and established theatre practitioners, Elyssia has assembled a cast of young Indigenous Womxn to explore female pleasure from a lens of joy and disruption.
“WE ARE LIVING IN A
POWERFUL SHIFTING
TIME IN HER-STORY.”
Bookings: https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2019/sep/reclamation
Description
We are living in a powerful shifting time in her-story. Womxn, femmes and nonbinary people are globally recentring power and coming together to reclaim power and agency. Using joy as a base to explore female desire and pleasure through different forms of dance, song, spoken word and collective practice. Reclamation is a celebration of ourselves and our audience. We look forward to sharing the joy with you.
For enquiries please message Producer Tanu Gago tanugago@hotmail.com | 0224773006
FAFSWAGVOGUE.COM
Director: Elyssia Wilson Heti
Cast: Elyssia Wilson Heti, Falencie Filipo,
Ria Hiroki, Vaimalia Carolyn Urale Baker
Creative team: FAFSWAG
Producer: Tanu Gago
This work was created with support from Pacific Arts Council Creative New Zealand and Basement Theatre
FAFSWAG BIO:
FAFSWAG is a company committed to social change through art and innovation, producing bespoke cultural
activation that is cutting edge, culturally responsive and socially relevant.
Operating across a multitude of interdisciplinary art forms and genres, FAFSWAG artists work
collaboratively to activate public and digital space, speaking to our contexts as Queer Indigenous arts
practitioners. FAFSWAG has presented works in London, Paris, Switzerland, Canada, America, Australia,
Japan and across Aotearoa NZ
Artists Include: Jermaine Dean, Falencie Filipo, Akashi Fisinaua, Tanu Gago, Tapuaki Helu, Elyssia Wilson
Heti, Nahora Ioane, Hōhua Ropate Kurene, Moe Laga-Toleafoa, Ilalio Loau, Sione Monu, Tim Swann,
Mānoa Teaiwa, Pati Solomona Tyrell, Manuha’apai Vaeatangitau, James Waititi.
AWARDS
● 2014 Annual Commission / Auckland Festival of Photography / Tanu Gago
● 2017 Auckland Theatre Awards – Best Overall Work / Femslick / FAFSWAG
● 2018 New Zealand Fringe Festival – Best Design Nominee / Fa’aafa / FAFSWAG
● 2018 Best in Fringe / Fāgogo / Pati Solomona Tyrell
● 2018 Best Visual or Performance Art / Fāgogo / Pati Solomona Tyrell
● 2018 Warwick Broadhead Memorial Award / Fāgogo / Pati Solomona Tyrell
● 2018 CSS Design Awards / UI Design / Fafswagvogue.com
● 2018 CSS Design Awards / UX Design / Fafswagvogue.com
● 2018 CSS Design Awards / Innovation / Fafswagvogue.com
● 2018 Walters Prize (Nomination) / Fāgogo / Pati Solomona Tyrell
Cast: Elyssia Wilson Heti, Falencie Filipo,
Ria Hiroki, Vaimalia Carolyn Urale Baker
Creative team: FAFSWAG
Producer: Tanu Gago
Dance , Spoken word , Music ,
1 hour
Roars like a tiger, one that has been in a cage too long
Review by Forest vicky kapo 28th Sep 2019
A FAFSWAG cast under direction of performer Elyssia Ra’nee Wilson-Heti, Falencie Filipo, Vaimaila Carolyn Urale Baker, and Ria Hiroki, are the big brown fem/womxn, non-binary tigers, who over the course of the show roam, growl and preach unapologetically.
Through oration and short original texts, Reclamation offers small punchy sexualised skits through a cabaret-style format as a way of reclaiming their power, their bodies and their pleasure. Though simplistic in structure, Reclamation is big on energy.
Seating arrangement in the theatre follows the walls to surround a 4-sided large and tall plastic gazebo with wide entry points present in the east -west walls, depending on how your compass points. This arrangement spreads the small audience out so that generating good vibes means the performers really have to deliver -and they do. With the help of very upbeat and commercial R&B and pop sounds, an inclusive topdown lighting design (thanks Jennifer Lal) diplomacy and integrity shine down, in, and onto the plastic gazebo; letting this fort become church, nightclub, makeup room/bedroom peep room, while the opaqueness of the plastic walls themselves easily shift into a functional educational AV board. Other times, thankfully, these plastic walls help to obscure and add modest to much of the sensual and sexual themes and movement carried via original text and founded in performer biographical material.
Set design aside, these performers work hard to bring wit, timing, and old school sass to their bittersweet stories and in doing so win the audience over, one succulent story at a time.
Highlights forthis member, of the audience were many, and without giving anything away, the Clitorial, the instructive masturbation scene alongside the transwomxn reminder of value, definitely added punch and glitz. though there are some weak storylines and transitions and some sightline struggles in the beginning, (move if you need more visuals) overall this production, from missionary-bound virgins to eventually a BIG SASSY SHAKEDOWN, this production has indeed real joy and importantly courage.
Reclamation ! Yes and praise SUSUS.
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