Many ancestral currents, past and present, carried Pasifika peoples from Te-Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa to Aotearoa. Whilst each Pacific identity is unique, experiences of migration, colonialism, and courage are shared, and vividly expressed in a thriving performance scene. Pasifika playwrights Oscar Kightley and Victor Rodger are just two of the many whose work reflect the Pasifika migrant spirit and the relationships with Māori as tangata whenua. How are the multiple waka of Pasifika theatre navigating current global storms, and what does the future hold? They share their thoughts with Lana Lopesi.

O le tele o folauga i vaitaimi ua tuanai e oo mai i le asō, na folau mai ai tagata Pasifika mai le Te-Moana-Nui-a-Kiwa seia taunuu mai i Aotearoa. E tofu lava atumotu o le Pasifika ma lona faasinomaga, ma e ui i le eseese o nei faasinomaga, o talaaga i femalagaiga, faiga faakolone, ma le loto toa o tagata Pasifika, ua mafai ona faasoa ma faamatala manino i se faaaliga maoa‘e ma matagofie. O tusitala i faaaliga faa- Pasifika, le susuga Oscar Kightley ma Victor Rodger o nisi o tomai mai le toatele o tusitala, ma o loo atagia i a la galuega le agaga o tagata folau mai le Pasifika ma le sootaga ma Māori o tagata o le laueleele. O faapefea i le tele o sā o le Pasifika ona faatautaia folauga i matagi malolosi i le taimi nei, ma o le ā se taunuuga o loo agai atu i ai i le lumanai? Na faasoa o la manatu ma Lana Lopesi.

Talanoa series curated by Gina Cole.