The Sons of Charlie Paora at the Herald Theatre

By WARREN GAMBLE

English actor and writer Lennie James' search for the "poetry of the ordinary" brought him across the world to the streets of South Auckland.

With a group of talented young New Zealand actors he has brought off the near-impossible: a play bringing the soul of another country to life - warts, rugby, Lion Red, hangi, lavalavas and all.

James was contacted by Massive Company director Sam Scott, who had seen his partly autobiographical film Storm Damage about growing up in south London.

He came out last year for three weeks and worked with the company's young actors, who wanted to make a play based on their stories of becoming men.

Among them is actor Max Palamo's jail sentence for wounding with intent, but like the other threads of the narrative it is not overdone, adding to its power.

Palamo's Ezra is one of the five young Maori and Pacific Island men who gather in a Mangere garage to remember their Nga Tapuwae College rugby coach, Charlie Paora.

Over a hangi and a few dozen beers it becomes clear that Charlie was a mentor as well as coach, a father figure who inspired life-changing decisions.

The reminiscing is spiced with songs from their schooldays, at one stage providing an impressive and hilarious dance-off.

A scene recreating a match-winning Nga Tapuwae try also has dazzling moves and wit. It shows the cast's real-life affinity built up over nine years working for Massive's predecessors, the Aotearoa Young People's Theatre and the Maidment Youth Theatre.

As Charlie's wake unfolds, the cracks in a wisecracking mateship stretched by time and circumstance appear.

The tension goes to a new level with the arrival of Charlie Paora's real, Pakeha son and daughter. Wesley Dowdell's Sonny is suitably angry at "losing" his father to the rugby boys.

Despite its racial backdrop, Sons is not about racial issues. Its power is in highlighting universal themes in a uniquely New Zealand, uniquely South Auckland way.

James' craft and the actors' vitality make a refreshing reflection on ourselves, and a play which could hold its head up on any stage.