KEY POINTS:
Dave Armstrong and Oscar Kightley's wickedly funny take on Samoan-Palagi relations is well suited to the ethnic pot-pourri of West Auckland.
There can be few areas of the country where inter-cultural mixing is more common and the Glen Eden Playhouse audience responds with hoots of recognition whenever a local reference point is thrown in.
The play centres on the relationship between a nerdy Kiwi kid and a young Samoan boy freshly arrived from the islands.
The drama follows the ripples that flow out from this uncomplicated childhood bonding with the two actors jumping into a wide variety of roles as we are introduced to their families and members of their wider community.
Fasitua Amosa and Ashley Hawkes both deliver energetic performances and skilfully handle the rapid-fire character changes. They are a physically well-matched pair and play off each other with an engaging naturalness, especially in the hilarious episode where they capture the awkwardness of teenagers agonising over the ritual goodnight kiss.
Fasitua Amosa conveys a wonderfully mischievous quality and has the ability to be both insulting and scrupulously polite at the same time. He also builds some amusing characterisations as he takes on the roles of the hard-case Samoan mother and various drunken uncles.
Ashley Hawkes finds plenty of comedy in his portrayal of the earnest, well meaning and painfully PC Palagi parents who are frequently torn between the desire to be broad-minded and guilt at compromising their liberal beliefs.
Armstrong and Kightley's script is fast paced and bristles with sharp one-liners but also delivers some poignant moments and avoids the trap of romanticising Samoan culture. The play is even-handed in the way it targets both Samoan and Palagi manners - exposing the hypocrisy of liberal do-gooders but also taking on Samoan attitudes to discipline and gender roles.
The cross-cultural perspective creates a kind of free-fire zone for taking pot-shots at various politically correct sacred cows and some of the biggest laughs came from the Samoan mother's openly expressed contempt for her Maori work colleagues.
Jesse Peach's direction makes effective use of gesture and body language and delivers some well choreographed bursts of physical comedy.
The production confirms Peach Theatre's reputation for presenting quirky, high-quality theatre in a community setting.
