22–25 March

The Civic

THE CONCH & THE NAKED SAMOANS

THENAKEDSAMOANSDO MAGIC

Stage Management Morag Carter

Assistant Stage Manager Jordan Keyzer

Production Management Lisa Maule

Season Production Manager Nick Tauiliili

Technical Operators Haami Hawkins Eleanor Taylor

Construction & Finish Alan Curreri Taylor Joynes Rob Edwards Bruce Stokell

Producers Assistant Zandra Ah-Jay Maeepu

Rehearsal Technician Haami Hawkins

Chaperone Salote Nawalowalo McCrory

commissioned by auckland arts festival and co-produced with the conch

1hr 15mins no intervalphotography: john mcdermott

with support from

PERFORMERS

Mario Gaoa Shimpal Lelesi Robbie Magasiva Oscar Kightley Dave Fane Ia Heto Ah Hi

Merlin Connell-Nawalowalo Kasaya Manulevu Fay Tofilau Vaiari Vaeau-Ivirangi Ren Slatter Patrick Nawalowalo McCrory

CREATIVE TEAM / CREW

Producer Sasha Gibb

Set Design Penny Fitt

Magic Design Nina Nawalowalo Anton Van Helden

Lighting Design Lisa Maule

Sound Design Chris Winter

Music Selection Tom McCrory

Costume Design Sandra Tupu

Multimedia Design Ed Hawkins

Magic Consultant Ross Skiffington

Choreography Ross McCormack

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to all our supporters without whom this show would not exist:

Vanessa Byrnes and Unitec; Peter Cleveland and Auckland University; Propellor Studios; Avalon Studios; Charlie Unwin and Family; Anton Parsons; Sophie Elworthy and Corbans Estate Arts Centre; Andy Zhu and Northern Scaffolding; Lisa Taouma and Tiki Productions; Vanessa Kelly; Taki Rua Productions and Hau Kainga Wellington; the Tupu family; Genevieve Nauder and Denise Wiremu; Bridget Nawalowalo and Milika Nawalowalo McCrory; Anapela Polataivao Goretti Wickman Bronwyn Bradley and PIPA; Elspeth Tilley and Massey University; Jim Moriarty and Te Rakau Theatre; Mark Michaels and Les Mills; David Steele and Jade Putt.

Thank you also to the family and friends of our full cast and crew; for your generosity and care of the team throughout this enormous process.

We dedicate this show to you all, and also to the memory of Wayne Rogers. At the beginning of this journey,

Magician Wayne Rogers gave us our first illusion– the Jarret Box. He was so excited about the show that he joined us in our first two workshops, teaching and sharing his magic with the team.

Sadly, life imitated art and late last year Wayne passed away. A beautiful, spritely and generous man, who gave us the spark which became the magical inferno we incinerate your senses with tonight. Thank you to Wayne for being with us on this journey. We hope we do you proud. Vinaka vakalevu.

Ni sa Bula Vinaka

Thank you for coming to this performance of The Naked Samoans Do Magic.

The Naked Samoans are a rare beautiful global treasure. A comedy troupe, who like their heroes from Abbot and Costello to the Marx brothers, combine to create chemistry – a joyful, skilled playfulness where the sum is greater than the parts. We love them for the way they have held up a mirror for us to see ourselves, warts and all, and for the gift of laughter which is equal parts joy and liberation. So, after a successful collaboration between The Conch and Oscar Kightly on The White Guitar, there was a strong pull to go further. The desire to bring back the Nakeds to the New Zealand stage was irresistible and the idea of them doing a magic show, while scary, made us giggle whenever we thought of it.

Magic is about the rediscovery of a childlike wonder at the world and laughter the liberation from fear. And at a time of fear when the wonder at the world has drained from so many eyes, laughter and magic are more important than ever. From wonder comes hope, from laughter in the face of fear comes the courage to act.

Vinaka vakalevu to the Auckland Arts Festival for this very real opportunity; allowing us to bring this large scale work to the stage.

To Jonathan Bielski – From the first visit to The Conch offices in Wellington, Jonathan’s visionary way of supporting artists and inspiring creativity has held us. Thank you. To David Inns – For your faith in and commitment to our collective vision. To the full Festival team – the machine that works tirelessly in the background to get us from concept to stage.

And to all of you here today, we look forward to spending this time with you and going on this magical journey together.

Vinaka vakalevu

Nina Nawalowalo, Artistic Director

and

Tom McCrory, Executive Producer of The Conch

theconch.co.nz

DIRECTORS’ NOTES The Conch – Nina Nawalowalo & Tom McCrory

Mario has been an arts practitioner for the past 20 years. His humility stops us from printing all the works he has been involved with during that time. His focus over the last 10 has been been in film and television. Mario says his return to the stage is so he can play with his buddies.

“I grew up around cinema and to me it was the magic place I escaped to when it was school holiday time (my Mum was an usher at the old St James and Cinerama). And now years later I find myself in that space again. It’s not the cinema, but the magic I knew as a kid is here.”

Shimpal Lelisi got his break with Pacific Theatre in the late 80s. He was a co-creator, writer and voice actor in the hit show bro’Town and was a reporter/journalist on Tagata Pasifika. He starred in Sione’s Wedding where he was nominated Best Actor at the Film Awards, and was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Topless Women Talk About Their Lives. Shimpal currenty works as a director, writer and presenter with Fresh and The Coconet.

“We are putting everything into making this show because that’s what it will take to pull something this grand off; the magic, the comedy, the stagecraft, the set design, the costuming – it’s bigger than anything we’ve ever done.”

Kiwi actor Robbie Magasiva has been a familiar face to New Zealand, boasting a lengthy body of work from the stage to the screen spanning over two decades. After making his big-screen debut in the hit movie Stickmen, Robbie joined Polynesian theatre troupe The Naked Samoans. In 2015, Robbie was nominated for an award for Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor for his role in Wentworth, which Robbie has worked on since 2012.

“We’ve been talking about coming back together for a long time now, but the timing hasn’t worked and the right process hadn’t come forward. At first I was sceptical that this was going to be it – but after our first workshop together, and the seed of the idea began to grow, I was convinced.”

David Fane a multi award-winning actor/writer for both television and theatre. In a career that has spanned 25 years he is a familiar face to New Zealand and Australia. His film credits include Sione’s Wedding; Sione’s Wedding 2: Unfinished Business; Love Birds; The Tatooist, for which he was nominated for best supporting actor; and most recently Gary of the Pacific. On the small screen the award winning bro’Town, Outrageous Fortune, 800 Words, Westside, Diplomatic Immunity and many more. Last year he was dual recipient of the Pacific Senior Artist award with Oscar Kightley.

“This show will knock your teeth out and put them back again. A masterpiece of magical proportions”

Oscar Kightley is a Samoan born writer/actor and director who grew up in New Zealand and who has helped create critically acclaimed award-winning work for the stage, small and big screens. The movie he co-wrote and starred in, Sione’s Wedding, broke domestic box office records on its release in 2006. In 2009, Oscar was made a New Zealand Arts Foundation Arts Laureate, and in the same year was given a medal from the Queen in recognition of services to New Zealand theatre and television. His first short film, Tom’s Dairy, got love from film festivals including the top prize in Belize. That year he co-wrote and played the lead in the gritty drama Harry, which received rave reviews in New Zealand and in the United States. Most recently we enjoyed Oscar on the silver screen in the award-winning Hunt for the Wilderpeople and heard Oscar’s distinctive voice in the Disney hit Moana. Oscar has been part of The Naked Samoans troupe 20 years now.

“This has been 20 years in the making and it could be our last ever show, so please come and see it”

Of Samoan and Tokelauan descent, Heto is the creative director of Kinetic Wayfinding; a theatre company focused on wellbeing and social change through performing arts. As a performer he has also performed in critically acclaimed theatre productions such as Frigate Bird Sings, Dawn Raids, My Penina, Music and Me and the award-winning Black Faggot. Heto has also been a loved face on the big screen and for his role as Tyrone in the film Matariki he won the award for Best Actor at the 2010 Brussels International Independent Film Festival.

“I’m in awe of Nina’s dreamlike presence when we work and am honored to work with The Conch. And with The Nakeds – you gotta be on your toes because a prank could happen any time. Love it!”

THE NAKED SAMOANS

MARIO GAOA

SHIMPAL LELISI

ROBBIE MAGASIVA DAVE FANE

OSCAR KIGHTLEY

IA HETO AH HI

Patron The Governor General, Her Excellency The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, GNZM, QSO

Board of Trustees John Judge (Chair) Angela Clatworthy Rick Carlyon Evan Davies Sarah Judkins Tarun Kanji Margaret Kawharu MNZM Jim Moser Ben Taufua Fred Ward

Founding Friends Adrian Burr Graeme Edwards Friedlander Foundation Dame Jenny Gibbs Sir Chris & Lady Dayle Mace

Official Suppliers ABE’s Bagels Delmaine Fine Foods Mojo PwC Russell McVeagh

Chief Executive David Inns

Artistic Director Jonathan Bielski

Business & Finance Director Shona Roberts

Accounts & Payroll Administrators Suzanne Watt Mirena Tomas

Executive Assistant Josie Maskell

Office Manager Donna Lynskey

Head of Programming Dolina Wehipeihana

Senior Programme Manager Tama Waipara

Programme Manager Angela Green

Programme Assistant Tanya Muagututi’a

Producer’s Assistant Aroha Rawson

Creative Learning & Community Engagement Manager Tracey Marama Lloydd

Creative Learning & Community Engagement Assistant Natasha Lay

Programme Administrator Helen Winskill

Project Coordinator, Whanui Noma Sio-Faiumu

Whanui Project Assistant Amo Ieriko

Technical Manager Nick Tomlin

Technical Administrator Catherine Hart

Artist Liaison & Logistics Manager Megan Andrews

Artist Liaison Assistant Sophie Williams

Production Manager Vicki Cooksley

Festival Playground Operations Managers Charlotte Crone Gareth Baston (Boris)

Head of Staging Andrew Gibson

Head of Lighting Andrew Meadows

Head of Sound Sandy Gunn

Head of AV Simon Baker

Marketing & Communications Director Thierry Pannetier

Marketing Contractor Sally Woodfield

Content Editor Tim Wong

Campaign Executive Alistair Kwun

Media & PR Manager Siobhan Waterhouse

Media & PR Assistant Josephine Granese

Marketing Intern Ellie Tapsell

Sponsorship Executive Jessie Congalton

Sponsorship Assistant Gill Saker

Designer Barny Bewick

Ticketing Manager Karen Cartwright

Ticketing Assistant Laura Aldis

FESTIVAL PEOPLE

Auckland Arts Festival is a place for ambitious ideas by storytellers, provocateurs and creators.

The Festival reflects our contemporary, cosmopolitan city with its many communities. It challenges artists and audiences to be bold and take a risk. Through the work of artists from Aotearoa and across the world, we aim to unify, uplift, enlighten and inspire the people of Tamaki Makaurau and our many visitors.

Taking place annually in March, 2018 marks the 10th Auckland Arts Festival. This year more than 200,000 people are expected to attend the Festival, which comprises more than 50 events taking place in all corners of the Auckland region and many of which are free.

CONTACT

+64 (0)9 309 0101 info@aaf.co.nz

Level 5, Wellesley Centre 44-52 Wellesley Street Auckland City 1010

PO Box 5419 Wellesley Street Auckland 1141, NZ

aaf.co.nz

CORE FUNDERS

GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORS

CORPORATE PATRONS

AUCKLAND ARTS FESTIVAL

The Clyde Graham Charitable Trust managed by

MAJOR FUNDERS

FUNDING PARTNERS

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

PLATINUM PATRONS Janet Clarke and John Judge, Sir Roderick and Gillian, Lady Deane,

Andrew and Jenny Smith, Sir James Wallace (Wallace Foundation), Fran Wyborn

GOLD PATRONS

Bill and Frances Bell

SILVER PATRONS Julie and Brian Cadzow, Jeremy Collins, Christine and Richard Didsbury, Trevor and Jan Farmer,

Friedlander Foundation, Kent and Gaye Gardner, Dame Jenny Gibbs, David Levene Foundation, Sir Chris and Lady Dayle Mace,

Heather Simpson, Sonbol and Farzbod Taefi, Walker and Hall Trust

BRONZE PATRONS John Barnett, John Billington QC,

Rick and Jenny Carlyon, Rosslyn Caughey, Jo and John Chaplin,

Mark and Angela Clatworthy, John and Jo Gow, Rochelle McLaren,

Kate Plaw, Fran and Geoff Ricketts, Michelle and Will Rouse,

Martin and Catherine Spencer, Lady Philippa Tait, Fred and Nicky Ward,

Sally Woodfield and David Inns, William and Sarah Yates

JADE PATRONS Lisa Bates and Douglas Hawkins,

John and Victoria Carter, Graham Cleary, Martin Cooper,

Amber Coulter and Andrew Lewis, Tarun Kanji,

Jim Moser, Chris Simcock and Camilla Hope-Simcock,

Angela Temata and Vanessa Morgan

A STANDING OVATION FOR ALL THE FUNDERS, SPONSORS, PATRONS, AND SUPPORTERS WHOSE GENEROSITY LETS US BRING THE WORK OF GREAT ARTISTS TO THIS WONDERFUL CITY.THANK YOU

FESTIVAL CLUBAll roads at the Auckland Arts Festival lead back to the iHeartRadio FESTIVAL CLUB at the Aotea Centre, a hangout space and music stage for audiences, artists and the creative community to meet, mix and celebrate.

In the centre of the Aotea Arts Precinct, this comfortable and upbeat pop-up club is your place to gather before and after a show, grab a delicious meal from a bespoke menu, enjoy live music from instrumentalists and DJs, or unwind over the long summer nights with a special Festival cocktail.

Aotea Centre

1–25 March DAILY UNTIL LATE

In partnership with

Food and drink curated by ArtDego

FESTIVAL CLUB designed by Angus Muir