Support a fellow WIFT member and enjoy a night at the theatre taking in this powerful and acclaimed work. Directed by WIFT member Nina Nawalowalo, the stage show A Boy Called Piano will embark on its national tour next month.
Performed by Pacific New Zealand theatre company, The Conch, of which Nina is Artistic Director, the show is written by Fa’amoana John Luafutu and Tom McCrory, and builds on The Conch’s kaupapa of harnessing the power of theatre as a force for social change.
Auckland 1963, three eleven-year-old boys meet in a cell in the Family Court. Two Māori and one Samoan: Wheels, Piwi, and a boy called Piano. Made wards of state, they are taken to Ōwairaka Boys' Home. There begins a story into the heart of darkness, abuse and pain but also the resilience of the boys as they seek to survive through the power of friendship, culture, music, and the light of the human spirit.
Following the successful 2022 release of the award-winning documentary film of the same name (co-directed by Nina and produced by Katherine Wyeth), the show will visit Pōneke Wellington, Dunedin Arts Festival in Ōtepoti, Ōamaru, Hawkes Bay Arts Festival in Te Matau-a-Māui, Ōtautahi Christchurch and Auckland Live in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from October 04, 2022.
The documentary was an Official Selection in the 2022 New Zealand International Film Festival and Winner of Best Feature Documentary: Spring Edition, Montreal Independent Film Festival 2022.