Poetry and theatre lovers alike have been eagerly awaiting Tusiata Avia’s The Savage Coloniser Present to grace the stage. The Savage Coloniser Guide is the second e-book of poetry by Avia to be remodeled into an ensemble stage play because the award profitable Wild Dogs Under My Skirt. Each exhibits have been produced by Victor Rodger (F.C.C) and directed by Anapela Polata’ivao. Lots of the forged stay from Wild Canines, and are joined by Mario Faumui and the younger Iuni-Katalaina Polata’ivao-Saute in her performing debut.
I used to be fortunate to catch the present on closing evening. I milled into the Rangatira efficiency area at Q theatre with a diverse viewers spanning the cultural communities of Auckland – a welcoming sight. Because the final two empty seats in the home disappear, the lights go down and a stage enveloped in atmospheric haze takes focus. A clear internet is stretched throughout the scene, which turns into a display for projected photos. Chairs with sheaths strapped to them await the ensemble, and are lit an earthy pink – evoking representations of blood, earth, and braveness. A projected white body demarcates the scene, honing the viewers’s consciousness to contemplate rigorously what they see.
The present begins in pre-colonial occasions in a religious realm. From there emerge the voices of Samoan girls, with phrases of resistance, and reclamation. Anapela Polata’ivao’s path and artistry brings one other dimension to Avia’s poetry because the phrases come off the web page. Each member of the ensemble offers a flawless efficiency. Joanna Mika-Toloa foreshadows how I, as a brown girl, felt by the tip of the present, with a surprising efficiency of Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’. As you would possibly count on, judging from the title, the present is confrontational and unapologetic in its strategy to the results of colonisation.
‘The Metropolis Fathers’, is a more recent poem which doesn’t seem within the e-book, however is a pertinent addition to the present. The poem is a focus within the historical past of racism in New Zealand and the way that racism continues to be upheld right now – on this case within the type of statues within the colonial metropolis of Christchurch by which Avia was born and raised. The figures represented by these outstanding statues are additionally leaders of land grabs and a Minister of Native Affairs who ordered the invasion of Parihaka. This was additionally a time when Māori have been assimilated into, but additionally segregated from Pākehā society. The Christchurch bloodbath is then positioned within the timeline, bringing the previous and current collectively within the bleakest of how. Historical past underpins the journey of the present and examples of white supremacist considering, right now and up to now, are weaved all through, subverted, and spat again out on the racists.
The poetry is beneficiant and affords insights, usually opening a door into the author’s private realm, although it’s nonetheless a spot that displays ourselves again to us. The transitions and choreography by Tupua Tifagua dips into these realms and are a visible deal with; blue oceanic colored materials tugs a performer forwards and backwards, dusky maidens are positioned on stage like collectible figurines after which fawn over shiny sequined cloth in a highlight. The sheaths strapped to the chairs reveal glinting machetes early on within the play, and bolsters this sense that wounds might be opened and truths will spill like blood.
It got here to my consideration earlier than the present that the contents of the poem ‘250th anniversary of James Prepare dinner’s arrival in New Zealand’ prompted a stir amongst some politicians like ACT social gathering chief David Seymour who took a literal studying of the poem and claimed it would incite violence. In the event you so select, you can look into the details of the incident. And although I don’t suppose a lot time or consideration ought to be spent on this concern, I nonetheless really feel that some dialogue ought to happen as a result of it’s a mirrored image of the issues we nonetheless face in our each day lives. No, brown girls driving round in SUVs and beating up individuals just isn’t a factor. It’s going to by no means be a factor. And perhaps if examined extra carefully, one may see what truly fuels hate crimes, and why it’s not a poem, or a play, and gained’t ever be racially disgruntled brown girls cruising round in a giant automotive. No less than the humour within the poem was apparent in efficiency because it bought laughs from the viewers on the punchlines.
The Savage Coloniser Present is trustworthy, disruptive, and empowering as we’re taken on a journey, by a panorama, and a number of other views. Painful and buried racism in our historical past is dug up, displayed, and pulled aside. The results of colonisation are dropped at the fore and set alongside our dysfunctional current in order that we might draw strains between them. The reward for an unapologetic strategy to the topic is catharsis for the viewers, or unprecedented perception. Anybody who resides on this nation is bound to see part of themselves within the present.
The Savage Coloniser Show performs Rangatira, Q Theatre 9–12 March, 2023 as a part of Auckland Arts Competition
