The play Where We Once Belonged won the “Absolutely Positively Outstanding New New Zealand Play of the Year” prize at the 17th annual Chapman Tripp theatre awards in Wellington last Saturday (9 December 2008). The play was adapted for the stage by Auckland based playwright David Armstrong from Sia Figiel’s award winning novel by the same title. The Chapman Tripp awards are New Zealand’s only professional theatre awards and reward excellence and innovation in theatre. Where We Once Belonged is an insight into the life of a young Samoan woman from the fictitious village of Malaefou as she steers through the joys of youthful exuberance, the seductive and yet hazardous ways of palagi culture, the challenges posed by an over-bearing mother-in-law, and the obstacles raised by the powerful Samoan patriarchy. Commenting on the award, Sia Figiel paid tribute to the production team and to the actors Anapela Polotaivao, Robbie Magasiva, Joy Vaele, Goretti Chadwick and Pua Magasiva. She hopes that the award will act as “a bridge of understanding between our peoples”. The production played a season at the New Zealand International Arts Festival in Wellington in March and in Auckland in April 2008. The novel won the Asia-Pacific regional Commonwealth Best First Book of Fiction Award in 1997. Sia Figiel is one of the Starmap Champions.
View a TV report on the play from Tangata Pasifika
