It was big night in South Auckland - while David Tua was seeking redemption in his battle with Monte Barrett the Kila Kokonut Krew delivered a knockout blow with the opening of a musical celebrating the joys and disappointments of the Pacific Island immigrant experience.
Creating an original musical from scratch is a massively ambitious undertaking and The Factory demonstrates that musical theatre is the ideal form for expressing the heightened emotions and indomitable optimism of the immigrant story.
The narrative provides a contemporary variation the Old Testament journey to the Promised Land: Escaping the devastation of the tsunami, a broken Samoan family abandon their homeland, submit to a modern form of slavery in a clothing factory and endure the hardships of a metaphorical passage through the wilderness.
The show has been a long held dream for writer and director Vela Manusaute and his vision has brought together a wonderfully talented team.
Musical director Polima Salima pulls off a remarkable fusion with a live band that has delicate string arrangements combining with the driving rhythms of Pacific Island drums, a soulful saxophone and some serious guitar based funk.
