Goodbye My Feleni

Goodbye My Feleni

Goodbye My Feleni (Goodbye My Friend) is the first-ever play to explore the experiences of the almost forgotten Pacific Islands soldiers who fought on the battlefields of Europe with D “Ngati Walkabout” Company of the 28th (Māori) Battalion.

Rich with Pasifika humour, song and storytelling, the play explores war’s impact on relationships between men, their families, their cultures and their homelands.

Papakura Military Camp, summer 1942. Simi, Tama and SIone, three naïve, adventure-hungry lads, prepare to embark for the battlefields of North Africa as reinforcements for the Māori Battalion. Excited about the prospect of “travelling the world and killing Nazis”, the boys are shaken out of their gung-ho, shoot ‘em up dreams by the battle-hardened, Niuean sergeant Ete Masani who soon makes them realise exactly how much is at stake.

A Samoan, a Niuean and a Cook Islander, the boys are thousands of miles from home and family, in another country’s army, and about to fight a war that’s halfway round the world. Why are they here? Where do they belong? Who are they fighting for?

Goodbye My Feleni is an all new script and cast, featuring the next generation of powerhouse Pasifika actors including Dominic Ona Ariki (The Brave, My Bed My Universe), Shadon Meredith (Hypothesis One, Le Tonu, The Arrival), Pua Magasiva (Shortland Street, Sione’s Wedding) and Shimpal Lelisi (Naked Samoans, bro’Town, A Frigate Bird Sings).

Entirely unique and sensitively drawn, the critically acclaimed Goodbye My Feleni is written by award-winning Samoan playwright D F Mamea, produced by Jenni Heka, and directed by Amelia Reid-Meredith (Le Tonu).

28-30 August 2014 at 8pm
31 August 2014 at 6pm (duration 90 minutes)
Playhouse Theatre, 15 Glendale Road, Glen Eden
Tickets from eventfinda: www.eventfinder.co.nz
For further information: www.goingwestfest.co.nz

ENDS

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