Playwright keeps it all in the family

By NIGEL GEARING

Sela is in a jovial frame of mind, laid back on her mat, yarning to her neighbour.

"Look at my son, the one who is smoking over there."

"She" scornfully flicks her fan outward. "I tell them they need an education in this country. Ah, you must come down and talk family any time you need to."

That smile, laugh and body language. The persona of the auntie.

And he's got the character down pat. But then the 20-year-old who moved here from Tonga only four years ago would.

"I relate to Sela," Michael Koloi laughs. "I have been surrounded by women like that all my life."

Beth Kayes wrote and first performed A House Across Oceans as an autobiographical solo show in Sydney in 2000 with Christian Penny as director.

"I didn't connect with the material at the beginning," Penny says. "I got her to include stories about family."

At the time, Kayes was performing in a show for the Olympics where she was hanging from a 100m-high building.

"That show was about immigration," says Penny, who is the Wellington-based director of acting at Toi Whakaari, the New Zealand Drama School. "Her show provided the vehicle to explore aspects of New Zealand culture. She always wanted to bring in more characters and the decision to include a young Tongan [played by Koloi] has provided a strong combination.

"Because I have an understanding of more than half the story, working long distance has not been a problem at all. The first time I was New Zealand-based and she was in Australia."

Rehearsal space is the garage in Mt Albert below Beth Kayes' house. The ceilings are low, as they will be at SiLo Theatre, perfect to practise her trademark physical theatre style she fell in love with while in London in the late 80s.

"The show is a reworked version of a story about my grandmother, who was dying while I was scaling down the side of a high-rise building as part of a festival," Kayes says. "My mother was a teacher at Nga Tapuwae College for 15 years. She fostered at-risk children. One was a young Tongan.

"His character is an aspiring rugby player, Vincent, who is torn between the conflicting pressure of family and career."

"Playing that role is probably the least threatening part of this departure from the past," Koloi laughs. "The first thing I realised was if I was going to play a rugby player I would have to look like one."

Fifteen kilos have been put on via the gym and food.

Koloi's first role since graduating from the Unitec acting degree last year has certainly had its challenges. One was the long-distance relationship with Penny - meaning Kayes, Koloi and Penny have only worked together for eight days.

One week out from opening night they were working with an Auckland director, Justin Lewis, from Indian Inc. Apart from the time with Penny, it's just been the two of them in the garage, scripting, rescripting, getting it right.

"Devising is irritating and rewarding," says Koloi. "It's one of the most difficult things I've done."

Kayes plays herself, an Aussie taxi driver, the director of the show and Dr Pakistan, a young kid who yearns to be a missionary.

"There's a lot of parody in this show," she says. "It's about a Catholic family. But it's more than that. There are certain themes that are universal in families, togetherness, unconventional characters, stubbornness, political views and staunchness and conservatism to contend with. And it can be very funny."

For Koloi, the eight-week journey of sculpting his characters is into its last lap. Sela's looking pretty polished. Then there's Vincent and Rangi Moana, a Maori activist, to work on.

What next for Koloi?

"The dole. No, just kidding. I'm doing what I want to do. You make that choice and it's worth it. I'll just keep hoping to get auditions."

Kayes wants to continue working with a small group of young people who are keen to do physical theatre.

"Next time we'll do it in a higher theatre," she says. "I would rather be at the SiLo, even with its limitations, because it has such a good feeling."

Performance

* What: A House Across Oceans

* Where and when: SiLo Theatre, March 17-27