Sons of Vao

“As kids, we laugh at our pains. We laugh at our hunger. We laugh ourselves to sleep.”

Vao is a warrior. A charming, handsome man, he carries rage in his fists and danger in his eyes. But, to his three sons, he is a god. “We follow his words and everything he does becomes the law in our young lives. Our lives belong to Vao.”

Spanning four decades, from village life in Niue in the 1970s to the suburbs of Ponsonby, this powerful story follows the brothers’ struggle to break free from their father’s destructive hold.

This play is directed by stage and screen legend Anapela Polata’ivao ONZM (Samoa: Vailoa Faleata, Vaiusu, Fagae’e Safune), who recently starred in the hit movie Tinā and directed acclaimed Auckland Theatre Company works Things That Matter and Red, White and Brass. Audiences can expect a powerfully told story.

A world premiere, Vela Manusaute’s (Niue: Mutalau, Hakupu) autobiographical Adam NZ Play Award-winning script is deeply personal. In parts, it is confronting and, in others, it uses laughter to mask the pain as the brothers emerge into adulthood, carrying childhood scars that affect each of them in very different ways.
 

“Moving and powerful.”

— Adam NZ Play Awards

Prices listed are early bird pricing and subject to change.

Presented by Auckland Theatre Company.