Black Friars is a group of first generation New Zealand-born Pacific actors who challenge stereotypes and preconceptions through theatre. Based in South Auckland, the theatre company was formed in 2006 and featured in an hour-long programme on national television last Sunday. Black Friars explain that their purpose is “to keep talented young Pasifikan people off the street and on the stage”. The core group consists of Vau Atonio, Lauie Sila, Tana Aiono, Misipele Tofilau and Michelle Johansson. The group incorporates diverse elements into their work from traditional and contemporary Polynesian music and dance to Shakespeare and Greek theatre. In 2007, Black Friars received the award for the ‘Best Festival Newcomers’ at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. Productions have included original works such as Being Big and Being Brown to adaptations of Aristophanes’ The Wasps and Shakespeare’s Othello. Plans for 2011 include a possible replay of Uso, a story about growing up in South Auckland and the prospect of ‘The Merchant of Mangere’, another Shakespearean adaptation. For more information, see the Black Friars blog site at http://www.blackfriarscompany.blogspot.com/. (Image from the Black Friars blogsite)
