Vela Manusaute began working in comedy in the early 1990s and when ten years later he could not find enough acting opportunities he decided to produce his first show, Taro King (2002). Taro King was produced in collaboration with Auckland Theatre Company in an attempt to nurture New Zealand talent (CAM). The play was written and directed by Manusaute and had a cast of over twenty actors. Taro King is a migration story that explores life in New Zealand and highlights gaps between reality and expectations. The play is semi-autobiographical. Manusaute similarly to the character was disillusioned with life in New Zealand and worked in a supermarket. He remembered: ‘when my son was born, I was working in the supermarket, and [I] was thinking this is not what [I] should be doing, I am a creative person,’ (MAN). The main character in the play is Filipo, who was born in Samoa but raised in New Zealand. He supports his family by cutting taro29 in a supermarket in Otara, Auckland. He is disappointed because he imagined life would be better in New Zealand, he thought of New Zealand as the ‘land of milk and honey’ (MAN). Fijian-Indians, who imported taro from Fiji, run the supermarket. Unexpectedly, the New Zealand government stops all imports from Fiji, as a reaction to an attempted coup. As jobs in the supermarket are in danger, differences between ethnicities become more visible. Unlike earlier plays like Fresh off the Boat, the story is not about the immediate effect of migration; instead, it questions whether New Zealand is a really the land of milk and honey for Pasifika people.
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Taro King was so successful that Manusaute, and cast members Anapela Polataivao, Stacey Leilua and Aleni Tufuga decided to establish their own company in 2003. They named it Kila Kokonut Krew, because its abbreviation, KKK, shocked people, thus generated publicity30. Leilua recalled the experience vividly:
We were all sitting around in the studio and thinking what we should be called. […] we want to challenge people. […] It was so funny, because when we first started, people were like ‘no you can’t do that, are you serious?!(LEI)
The name, then, was chosen for its shock value. KKK’s meaning is inseparable from racism but the company tried to reverse the racist connotation by associating the abbreviation with a ‘group of brown people’ (LEI).
Playaz Night (2005), a successful comedy, and Super Fresh, a political comedy that highlights the differences between cultures, were both performed at the International Comedy Festival, Auckland (2008). Playaz Night was followed by Once were Samoans (2006).31 The title is based on the New Zealand movie, Once were warriors. The show, similar to previous Kila Kokonut Krew productions, uses humour to tell a story of a bicultural (Samoan and Maori) family. Part of the play was
performed during Artspeak, and one of the Samoan characters32 argued that one was like a Maori even if one is not brought up by Maori, and suggested that core characteristics are unchanging and innate. Such opinions suggest that identity is based on ethnicity. Once were Samoans also discusses conflict based on ethnic stereotypes and prejudice. A Maori man, who is trying to have a relationship with his neighbour, a Samoan girl, faces strong opposition from the girl’s parents, who believe all Maori are untrustworthy.
Kila Kokonut Krew’s next show with Auckland Theatre Company (2010) was an adaptation Dario Fo’s We can’t pay we will not pay. Manusaute directed the show, and Anapela Polataivao and Goretti Chadwick played the main characters. The original play is about two women, who while shopping in a supermarket, get embroiled in a price-riot (Fo, Colvill, & Walker, 1982).The women are reluctant to tell the whole story to their husbands and consequent lies and misunderstandings are portrayed with slapstick humour. The humour and the story are the same in Kila Kokonut Krew’s adaptation,
30
Kila Kokonut Krew has the same initials as Klu Klux Klan, the far right organization in the United States of America.
31
Once were Samoans was toured between 2007- 2009; and was performed at the International Comedy Festival, Auckland (2006, 2007), BATS Theatre, Wellington (2007), Mau Forum, Henderson (2006), Rotorua Arts Festival (2009), Festival of Culture, Palmerston North (2009), the Maori King’s Coronation, Ngaruawahia (2008), Fuel Festival, Hamilton (2008), Pasifika Spectacular Festival (2009) and in Brisbane (2009).; and it had its own season.
32
My observation notes state that it was the character of the mother. However, no script is available for the play.
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but the events take place in South Auckland’s Pasifika community, and not in Italy. In fact, all Kila Kokonut Krew productions and initiatives reflected the company’s ties to South Auckland
communities. The Factory is New Zealand’s first Pasifika musical (2011). The music is inspired by traditional Samoan songs and the story is an original piece by Kila Kokonut Krew. The play is a ‘tribute’ to first-generation Pasifika immigrants that worked in factories and a criticism of Pasifika people’s situation who still work in factories and struggle financially (Fresh, 12 February 2011; Tagata Pacifica, 18 August 2011).
Training and development
Kila Kokonut Krew created opportunities, Strictly Brown and The Young Kila Writers, for South Auckland playwrights to train new playwrights and to expand Kila Kokonut Krew‘s repertoire. The Young Kila Writers is expected to strengthen second and third generation Pasifika theatre makers’ voices in theatre and expand Kila Kokonut Krew’s audience explained Manusaute (MAN).The first readings, workshops and performances of short pieces took place in 2010 including Four women and Kingdom of Lote. Young Kila Writers project differed from the first phase of Banana Boat Writers because it focused on production rather than on script development. Kila Kokonut Krew’s approach was also more selective as Banana Boat offered support to any aspiring Pasifika playwright. While continuities exist, the company is set apart by their focus on second-generation’s stories and training.
The first full-length Tongan play performed in New Zealand was Kingdom of Lote,33 written by Suli Moa and produced by Kila Kokonut Krew. Kingdom of Lote was a project by Kila Kokonut Krew’s development project, Young Kila Writers. The play explores Tongan identity and culture through the story of a Tongan rugby player and his wife. They try to negotiate the expectations of the traditional Tongan ways and community with life in New Zealand. The comedy has both English and Tongan dialogues, and its performances were one of the first times Tongan was spoken on stage in New Zealand.
Four Women, written by Leilani Salesa, is another product of the Young Kila Writers. The play is about Pasifika women’s life, and the main character is a young Afakasi woman, who advocates social change and speaks up against stereotypes, racism, and her culture’s limitations, including women’s traditional passive role in society. Her character stands in contrast to her cautious and conservative friend, who is more passive and traditional. Four Women is one of the first Pasifika plays that explore women’s relation to tradition, community and life in New Zealand.
33
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Strictly Brown (2009)34 included six comedy acts presented by emerging artists, including a skit by Pani and Pani, one of the first Pasifika female comedy duos, in collaboration with Auckland Theatre Company. The show was set up as a talent search to the company modelled on Amateur Night at the Apollo, an American television show (LEI). To attract more audience Strictly Brown featured
musicians and guest appearances, including Robbie Magasiva from Naked Samoans.