Supporter: Foundation North

Moe Miti

I will taste the bitter separation and oil my skin with it. I will listen for all that is old and with my ear pressed to the dirt, hear those who sing my name on the wind.

Red Leap Associate Artist Katrina George leads a Pasifika ensemble in the creation of this devised work.

Through choreography, indigenous instrumentation, evocative text, and cutting-edge technology, Moe Miti erupts onto the stage. In an ode to the power of storytelling, three generations of Pasifika women attempt to rewrite the future by contending with the past. In the shifting space between waking and sleep, ancient lineages take shape in the darkness. 

Pepe, a young woman born in New Zealand, confronts a severance from both her mother Valu and her language and culture. Her land and lineage are on the tip of her tongue, but Valu leaves her mute as she vies for centre stage. When their ancestor Aiga emerges in a dreamscape, and refuses to be ignored, ancient and contemporary identities converge in a collision of intergenerational reconciliation and transformation. Origin stories of cruelty and courage crawl into consciousness. 

As plumes of smoke, beams of electric blue light, and spirits appear and recede into the darkness, ancient and contemporary stories collide, pushing theatrical boundaries. Through a uniquely Pasifika lens, this production explores universal themes of family, identity, migration, and the quest for connection. Moe Miti is a means to reclaim identity, honour heritage, and forge a path towards healing.

The Arrival

Adapted from the award winning graphic novel by Shaun Tan, The Arrival is a universal migrant tale set in a fantastical time and place.

A man flees his homeland and journeys across vast seas to arrive in a strange, wondrous new world where giant ships fly through the air and curious creatures abound. There he negotiates dazzling architecture, bizarre foods and foreign tongues to build a new life. On his travels the man meets fellow migrants each with their own tale to tell.

Like Tan’s book this production is a tribute to migrants, refugees and displaced people worldwide. It is ultimately a story of overcoming hardship, of humanity and of hope.

Commissioned by Auckland Arts Festival 2009. Winner of 6 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards including Best Production, Most Original Production, Best Director, Best Set Design, Best Costume Design and Best Newcomer.

In 2018 The Arrival was reworked to perform at Out of the Box Festival for Children in Brisbane.

SEA

One boy, a drifting island, and a restless sea.

Far from land at the height of a great storm a baby boy is snatched from his mother by the sea. Many years later a young man is washed up on a drifting raft island. To the people he is a welcome fishing omen bringing with him an abundant catch. Waves of fish follow the boy and the raft people stir with a greed that becomes insatiable. The people are not who he thought they were and the boy begins to fear for his life and for the sea.

Dust Pilgrim

WINNER – Best Set Design & Best Lighting Design, Wellington Theatre Awards 2016

Panuelo is trapped in a life built on dust and shifting sands, held tight in the fist of her tyrannical mother. After stumbling across the restless bones of a long buried secret, Panuelo makes a daring bid for freedom and runs out into the vast desert.

Along the way she discovers vivid new landscapes full of tricksters and angels, boundaries and borders. But things are never as they seem. How can Panuelo stop running and feel free in her new world?

Dust Pilgrim is an intimate coming of age tale of a young woman’s fight for freedom in a world where dreams and premonitions are as real
as the wind.

Thanks to everyone who supported Dust Pilgrim on our South Island Tour.