KEY POINTS:
Auckland Theatre Company's adaptation of Sia Figiel's acclaimed novel takes us on a roller-coaster ride through Samoan village life in the 1970s.
It's a thrilling journey full of laughter and emotional jolts as fragments of Western pop culture collide with the rigid authoritarianism of village tradition and sparks from a mythopoetic past are swamped by a rising tide of consumerism.
The highly energised five person ensemble is constantly, and sometimes confusingly, switching between multiple roles as they re-create the swirling fabric of village life. At the centre of the whirlwind a teenage village girl narrates a touching story of lost innocence.
The highly physical staging uses song and movement with striking musical effects that play off Michel Tuffery's set design which elegantly distils the contours of the village environment into an assemblage of transparent Perspex.
Pua Magasiva's exuberance and agility is particularly effective in the physical comedy routines while elder brother Robbie Magasiva establishes a menacing presence in his representation of patriarchal authority.
Anapela Polataivao and Goretti Chadwick skilfully step in and out of sharply contrasting roles while Joy Vaele movingly captures the emotional vulnerability of the protagonist but struggles to find an appropriate voice for the poetic language of the narration.
Kiwi playwright Dave Armstrong has taken on a daunting challenge in adapting a novel that is written from the viewpoint of an adolescent Samoan village girl.
The PC proscriptions that would prohibit writers from dealing with material outside of their own cultural experience have largely disappeared but European excursions into indigenous cultures remain controversial and in response to these sensitivities Colin McColl has brought in Bro Town's David Fane to share the directing credit.
Armstrong's talent for sketch comedy is evident in the quick-fire vignettes that enliven Figiel's menagerie of quirky characters. However, the adaptation is less successful in dealing with the novel's larger themes and the extraordinary power of Sia Figiel's narrative voice does not translate to stage.
In the original work the wide-eyed naivety of a village girl is magically fused with the sophisticated literary sensibilities of the author. The adaptation, with its emphasis on humour and pace, loses the irony and ambiguity of Figiel's voice.
As a result the story is reduced to a conventional jeremiad against the evils of westernisation that faithfully echoes Rousseau's discredited critique of civilisation.
On the other hand Armstrong has delivered a highly entertaining show that should succeed in his stated aim of directing the audience towards Figiel's remarkable first novel.
What: Where We Once Belonged.
Where: Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall.
