The Songmaker's Chair

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Event The Songmaker's Chair
Venue Soundings Theatre, Wellington, New Zealand
Umbrella Event New Zealand International Arts Festival 2004
First Date 27 February 2004
Last Date 3 March 2004
Dates Estimated No
Status Professional
World Premiere No
Description "The Songmaker's Chair is a heart-warming story filled with joy, laughter, and tears. It is a tribute to all Pacific peoples with dance, music, and singing, ranging from traditional Sāmoan songs and hymns to rap" (Albert Wendt). Acclaimed Sāmoan-born novelist Albert Wendt's first full-length play tells of a Sāmoan family, the Aiga Sa Peseola, who have been in Auckland since the 1950s. Over three generations the family have intermarried with Māori and Pākehā to develop what they refer to as the Peseola Way. Central to that 'Way' is the magnificent Polynesian exploration and settlement of the Pacific and a song-making tradition which Peseola Olaga, the family patriarch, has inherited from his father. At the heart of the play is the love between Peseola Olaga and Malaga, his wife, and how they've struggled to give their children a good life in Aotearoa. For theirs is the Peseola Way: defiant, honest, and unflinching, even in the face of death.
Description Source Programme
Primary Genre Theatre - Spoken Word
Secondary Genre Dance
Music
First Nations
Subjects Fale Aitu
Family
Marriage
Migration
Patriarchy
Samoa
Related Events
Organisations
Contributors
Name Function Notes
Grace Hoet Actor Nofo
Nathaniel Lees Actor Peseola
Tausili Mose Actor Lilo
Ana Tuigamala Actor Malaga
Nancy Brunning Assistant Director
Nathaniel Lees Director
Vera Thomas Lighting Designer
Jason Smith Musician
Albert Wendt Playwright
John Verryt Set Designer
Sima Urale Video Artist
Works
Text Nationality New Zealand
Samoa
Production Nationality New Zealand
Event Status Completed
Data Source
Source Description
Programme New Zealand International Arts Festival programme 2004
Data Set Theatre Aotearoa
Event Identifier 188783