Beautifully performed and expertly directed.
Islander, produced by the Australian Theatre for Young People, is a profound display of Samoan customs and cultural understanding. Over a quick 75 minutes, it reimagines its original text thoughtfully and triumphantly elevates every aspect.
ATYP’s production recontextualises the musical of the same name by Amy Draper, Finn Anderson and Stewart Melton. In their musical, Eilidh is the last child on a remote Scottish island. Upon discovering a beached whale calf she meets Arran, a stranger and custodian of whales. ATYP retains that premise and those characters but swaps Scotland for Samoa.
The show demands a lot of its performers, Rebecca Ordiz and Georgia Laga’aia. The two play over 25 characters between them, including Arran, Eilidh, Eilidh’s mother and grandmother, a spirited radio host, an expectant mother, a whale scientist and more. In addition to those roles they have to perform several musical numbers – some in English and others in Samoan – and simultaneously operate a loop pedal which layers their real time vocals to create rhythms and melodies. To further complicate matters they are mostly positioned on a small elevated circular platform, performing in the round inside the intimate Popsy space. It is not easy.
And they rise to the challenge. Ordiz captures the heart of her various roles nicely, giving a warm rendition of Eilidh that displays the character’s developing understanding of other people and other cultures Laga’aia shines in whatever she is doing, whether that be singing in both English and Samoan, drawing laughs as Eilidh’s mischievous grandmother, or portraying Arran’s deep sense of custodianship. Her range as a performer – and the strong execution of such range – is a big reason the show is a success.
Of particular note are the two’s technical skills. Their movement (courtesy choreographer Bree Tipoki) is fluid, ability to jump between characters seamless, and control of some tricky equipment sound. As a result, the show is smooth, slick and impactful. It is almost too slick – one gets so caught up in the brilliance of what they’re seeing that they forget to keep track of the core narrative.
Nonetheless, Hayden Tonazzi‘s direction is masterful. The music, lighting and sound design (Tim Hope, Lauren Shaw, Otto Zagala) are astute, employed well to enliven some wonderful sonics and visuals. But what makes his work moving is its conviction. Tonazzi’s decision to recontextualise the story through a Samoan and wider Pasifika lens is brave. Yet, this recontextualisation does not mean adaptation. Samoan and Pasifika influences deeply inform Islander‘s sense of community, belonging, and the weight that ancestry carries. As a result of the production and creative consultation which has taken place (Aden Abeleda, Gabriel Faatau’uu-Satiu), Tonazzi has created a world in which cultural identity is not explained for an outsider’s benefit or included superficially, but expressed with warmth and specificity, allowing its traditions, values and tensions to exist as an integral part of the storytelling.
Ultimately, Islander is not a Scottish musical with Pasifika influences. It is a thoughtful act of recontextualisation that makes real space for Pasifika voices. And it succeeds because it approaches that act with respect. The result is a production that understands culture not as a borrowed aesthetic, but a living system through which people make sense of who they are, where they belong and what they owe one another.
