Marianne Infante and Marwin Silerio in the play Pinay, where the richness of Filipino culture shines.
Written by Filipina-New Zealand playwright Marianne Infante, Pinay follows the journey of a family that leaves the Philippines to travel to Christchurch in 1999 to begin a new life. Hardworking migrant parents, young children who become immersed in life in Aotearoa - there are plenty of familiar events in the
journey of settling down and settling into life here.
However, this story - like every story - is different. The strength of the show is not just in the excellent cast, the strong production values or the evocative writing but also in the cumulative effect of the rich and nuanced specificity of Filipino culture.
During 90 minutes, we watch Alex (Infante) become best buddies with a young Māori boy (Matiu Hamuera), fall in love with a Pākeha boy Seth (Lucas Haugh) and navigate her way through the emotional and cultural minefield of Filipino parental expectations.
It's tempting to focus on a coming-of-age narrative but Infante's writing, Ahi Karunaharan's dramaturgy and director James Roque's light but deliberate touch emphasise the deep and heartfelt emotional tensions of a mother-daughter relationship. Infante shows a wide array of personalities from petulant child to innocent teenager to rebellious young adult.
Her lightning quick changes are matched by Donna Dacuno who quietly steals the show with an impeccable performance of the protective mother desperate for her daughter to avoid repeating historical mistakes. Marwin Silerio and Richard Perillo (playing Alex's older brother and father respectively) also offer beautifully sculpted character portrayls providing touching and poignant additions to the narrative. Hamuera and Haugh round off the team with strong and individual performances that steer the work away from cliche and set the story firmly on this whenua.
