The Road to Leadership is Through Service
As quickly as O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai (The Liar, the Thief, and the Coward) begins, the viewers is immersed within the Samoan language. The opening monologue by Vaofefe (The Village Vale), performed by Jesme Fa’auuga, is recited absolutely in Samoan — no subtitles offered.
A bilingual manufacturing requires an excessive amount of belief within the viewers, particularly when asking viewers to embrace language by immersion moderately than translation. O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai alongside different current productions (comparable to final 12 months’s How to Throw a Chinese Funeral that additionally utilised lengthy stretches of Cantonese) doesn’t again away from the problem, exploring how one can use greater than phrases to convey that means.
Because despite the fact that I used to be left to ponder what was being stated, I knew precisely what was occurring.
Fa’auuga’s efficiency was brimming with Shakespearean appeal. I used to be in a position to choose up on the warning and foreboding in Vaofefe’s tone alone, and from the laughter within the viewers, there was as a lot idiot’s wit as knowledge in his phrases.
In true King Lear type, the issue at hand is succession. The well being of Chief Pili Sā Tauilevā (Semu Filipo) is failing and he should select both his son or daughter to succeed him.
It is a fast arrange for a tragic arc: the chief’s key flaw is his stubbornness and he refuses to acknowledge his well being or an inheritor. As such his two kids (Ana Corbett, and Haanz Fa’avae-Jackson) are left to squabble over their birthright. While all performances had been distinctive, Ana Corbett stood out particularly; her haughty angle is uncalculated and pure as she effortlessly performs the a part of the prodigal daughter.
In assessing their worthiness as inheritor, Pili questions the service and dedication of his two kids. Pili recites the Samoan proverb ‘o le ala i le pule o le tautua’ — the highway to management is thru service. I used to be initially unfamiliar with the Samoan Tautua system, a cultural custom of service to the household, however the play offers each an training and exploration into the topic. O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai questions what it means to serve and when acts of lies, theft and cowardice are hidden behind acts of service — such because the actions Pili believes he’s entitled to make in his service as Chief, and the way he manipulates others to serve him.
In typical stylistic selection of ATC, the set was minimal and paired again, reserving props for the place they’ll have the best impression. For 2023’s King Lear it was the pristine white walkway that progressively acquired extra soiled all through the manufacturing. In O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai, it’s the construction of the home. The three ranges of open plan which might be continually telling a narrative inside a narrative as we glance to the place characters are standing in relation to the household hierarchy and in relation to one another.
From the highest ground of the home, I used to be readily anticipating the depth to which the chief would fall. The play does a tremendous job at laying rigidity, each from throughout the household and with the approaching backlash from the members of the village. However, on the finish I felt the implications to be solely partially realised and was left craving for extra tragedy.
Yet, O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai dares to demand extra from the viewers and units a brand new normal for bilingual theatre in Tamaki Makaurau. Dark and gripping, this home drama is a strong exploration into Samoan tradition and language.
O le Pepelo, le Gaoi, ma le Pala’ai performs at ASB Waterfront Theatre from fifth to the twenty third of March 2024.