Dream, job, or dream job?

When their family says “get a job”, their response is being cast in a show called “The Idiots”.

They are Wellingtonian creatives Sefa Tunupopo (Vaiala/Puipa’a - Sāmoa) and Manuel Solomon (Patamea - Sāmoa, Te Umu Kaha - Kāi Tahu) who are collaborating for the first time to tell a story about aiga, authority, and ancestral right.

The show is called Ngā Rorirori, which in English translates to the idiots - alternatively fools or dimwits - and charges into a relationship between brother, sister, and land.

Tunupopo and Solomon joined Tofiga Fepulea'i on Island Time to talanoa the show, and then some. Sharing some of the layers to the storyline, the complexities of a career in arts with Pacific family expectations, and thoughts on Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun.

“It’s like an amalgamation of all art forms. There’s strong movement, strong dancing, strong acting. But also the voices are dubbed over,” said Tunupopo, who was part of the show’s debut in 2022.

Centred around Manuela and Pillow Rorirori, the siblings also happen to be the only two members of their hapū (sub-tribe). The pōtiki (youngest), she’s an activist and the big brother is a convicted fraudster.

Solomon, a newcomer to the cast, expands on the main characters’ story arc.

“They have always been the poorer ones in their iwi. One day they find out they’re actually the Ariki link, they’re actually in charge of their land and surrounding lands. They come into a lot of responsibility and a lot of money.

“It’s about those two figuring out what to do with all that responsibility.”

Written by Māori playwright and Tawata Productions co-founder Hone Kouka (Ngāti Porou, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Raukawa) this show is his latest work since 2018 and is an extraction of his artistic loves - dance, theatre, and farce.

In celebrating its 20-year anniversary, Tawata Productions is the leading company in artist and performance development and they are taking their unconventional theatre show on a North Island tour to Tāmaki Makaurau, Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisbourne, and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

Tawata Productions co-founder Hone Kouka. Photo/Tawata Productions

The show is a multi-talented party of five, two actors and three dancers who perform recorded dialogue the whole time. Its cast includes Mycah Keall (Taranaki Iwi, Te Whānau a Apanui), Nomuna Amarbat (Mongolia, China), and Brazilian dancer Stela Dara.

Almost halfway through their rehearsal schedule, Tunupopo who’s originally from South Auckland, says elements of Hip Hop and Māori weaponry bring a new lease of life to the show.

“So there’s just a lot happening, but there’s a beautiful marriage between those aspects.”

Reverence for Raygun

As Tunupopo is a graduate from the New Zealand School of Dance with a background in Hip Hop choreography, Fepulea’i threw in a question asking for his thoughts on the widely controversial yet viral Australian breakdancer Raygun.

Raygun battling in the the inaugural Olympic Breakdancing competition in Paris. Photo/RNZ

Tunupopo responds diplomatically.

“I’m not a breaker so I can’t really comment on what I saw. The street dance community is looked down upon by the general public anyway, so as a street dancer I can’t talk smack.

“I’m not gonna say anything bad, it’s all love. She did what she did. Yo.”

Real Pacific Expectations

Being questioned by family about the seriousness and successfulness of an arts career is a common barrier for Pacific artists.

Often times they’re ridiculed, nagged, or pushed into finding something that has “stability”.

And it’s our families that are the bearers of this tough love approach.

“My mum was funny, she would be proud of me in front of her friends. But then to me she’d be like, ‘just go get a job’,” says Solomon.

Manuel Solomon (left) and Sefa Tunupopo.

The pair laugh as Tunupopo echoes his co-star, “Yep, same. My family are proud of me, they’re very supportive and come to all my shows but those at home conversations (are) like, ‘when are you going to get a full-time job?’

“‘Oh yep, soon mum. Soon.’”

Tunupopo says the dream is to find creative ways of giving back to their communities.

“Navigating the arts and seeing what it is to make art with my friends in such a turbulent time of making art at the moment.”

The duo are determined and committed to making it work and ask that if Ngā Rorirori comes to your neck of the woods, to go and watch it.

Or as Solomon put it, “Thank you for your support. Come and support us some more.”

Ngā Rorirori Show Dates & Venues:

• 12 – 14 September, Te Whaea National Dance & Drama Centre - Newtown, Wellington tewhaea.org.nz

• 19 – 22 September, Kōanga Festival Te POU Theatre - Henderson, Auckland tepoutheatre.nz

• 25 September, Gisborne War Memorial Theatre gisbornetheatres.nz

• 04 October, Aurora Centre Theatre - Gisborne auroracentre.nz