Music of a disruptor: A masterclass in identity, honesty, and resilience

In the Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan, Fonotī Pati Umaga orchestrates a revolution.

Spanning the electric radicalism of 1970s Aotearoa New Zealand to the quiet, static-filled isolation of a hospital ward, this is Fonotī’s powerful testimony of resilience.

It is a reminder that while a body may change, the soul of a disruptor is unshakeable.

Opening up as a visceral “time-warp”, grounding the audience in an Aotearoa defined by political awakening.

Fonotī navigates the friction of his youth, the tension of the Dawn Raids and the renaissance of te reo Māori. Positioning his Sāmoan identity alongside the giants of indigenous advocacy, such as Dr Moana Jackson and Dame Tariana Turia.

We see a man defined by his proximity to the fire - an activist marching against the 1981 Springbok Tour and a rebel who once got a kiss on the cheek from Nelson Mandela.

Historic echoes that are more than historical markers. They establish the noise of a life lived at full volume.

One of the many strengths of the production lies in its ability to translate internal struggle into a sensory experience. When the narrative shifts towards Fonotī’s life-altering fall, the stage becomes a landscape of disorientation.

The sharp lighting and sharp movements pull the audience in a deafening and confronting headspace.

Fonotī Pati Umaga. Photo/File

The atmospheric storytelling captures the frantic confusion of a man forced to unlearn his own sense of self, exposing the uncomfortable reality of internalised ableism - in all of us.

Prominent figures in Fonotī’s life who acted as mirrors, forcing a reckoning with his own mentality and attitude challenged me to ask: Who guides my way of life?

A brilliant device is the use of a “collective Fonotī”. By sharing the narrative across multiple performers, it transforms biographic monodramas and gives life to different textures of Fonotī’s life.

As we move through Fonotī’s trials and tribulations, the story ultimately reveals how a lifelong fighter pivoted, and saw a need to advocate for a community often rendered invisible.

Fonotī’s honest evolution highlighted a deficiency in New Zealand’s disabled care. After pushing for more than four decades for disability rights, Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People, was launched in 2022.

“Nothing about us, without us.”

As the music resurfaces like a testament to the fact that everyone’s purpose is within them, we are reminded that we as descendants of navigators have the power of agency and influence.

Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan is an essential piece of Aotearoa theatre. An intersection of grit and grace, leaving the audience with one command: Never stop being a disruptor.

Showing at Auckland's Q Theatre until 8 March, tickets are available here. Then at Wellington's Tāwhiri Warehouse 12 - 15 March, tickets available here.