Review: Niu Sila

Rotorua Festival of Arts
Niu Sila
Rotorua Convention Centre
Runs each night March 5-7

When two old friends meet by chance at the Melbourne Cup, their strained interaction sets the stage to go back in time and define their childhood moments and the greater meaning around culture, self-definition and friendship.
Niu Sila offers a simple presentation on complex themes, pulled off brilliantly by two actors - Damon Andrews, a series writer for Shortland Street, and Dave Fane, actor with roles in Outrageous Fortune and Sione's Wedding.
There is no set.
Using just their physique and positioning, each actor portrays more than a dozen characters.
Mainly there are the two boys, "parlangi" Peter Burton played by the tiny and pale Andrews, and Pacific Islander Ioane Tafioka, played by the ample and brown Fane.
The boys are great mates, who take delight in appreciating traditional and racial differences without connotation.
"Dawdling home from school together is sacred time," says Peter's dad.
In one scene they join the Indian Sports Cricket Club and help the team to win.
Ioane enjoys a trip with the Burtons to the symphony, while Peter enjoys piling up with Ioane's relatives to watch a rugby game.
Andrews steps forward and pulls on the bottom hem of his shirt and is instantly recognisable as the girl falling for Ioane.
Meanwhile, Fane steps back, hip forward and right arm swooping and becomes a believable Pacific Island matriarch, Ioane's mother.
With plenty of  humour upheld as the characters jostle, there is also the stereotyping of failure, which is presented as painful and unfair.
The ending is sad and poignant, offering a chance to "get it right this time" with different cultures appreciating the process of growing - together.
Written by renowned New Zealand comedy men Oscar Kightley and Dave Armstrong, Niu Sila has won awards and played internationally since 2004.
For more information visit www.rotoruaartsfestival.co.nz.