Where We Once Belonged

WHERE WE ONCE BELONGED is a co-commission between New Zealand International Arts Festival and Auckland Theatre Company.
Samoa is independent; CHARLIE'S ANGELS has arrived in the fale; and Alofa's life will never be the same again.
From the author of NIU SILA and THE TUTOR, Dave Armstrong, comes this emotionally charged adaptation of Sia Figiel's spirited and fiercely written Commonwealth Prize winning novel.
WHERE WE ONCE BELONGED is a hilarious, moving and heartfelt tale of desire and self discovery.

Starring Goretti Chadwick, Robbie Magasiva, Pua Magasiva, Anapela Polataivao and Joy Vaele, WHERE WE ONCE BELONGED is an unflinchingly honest, poetic and often wildly funny coming-of-age story set in 1970s Samoa.

Alofa, Lili and Moa are typical teenage girls. They tease the local boys, misbehave at school and worship Charlie's Angels. But there is a darker side to Alofa's life. She struggles to win the acceptance of her unforgiving family.

As young Alofa Filiga navigates the mores and restrictions of village life, she begins to come to terms with her own changing identity and the price she must pay for it.
At its heart WHERE WE ONCE BELONGED is about storytelling in its purest form; girls sitting around gossiping, villagers chattering about local business, old folk telling the young the history of their families and the mythology of pre-Christian Samoa, and the much maligned village seer Siniva telling uncomfortable truths about the cost of change.

If you enjoyed MISTER PIP, THE KITE RUNNER and Dave Armstrong's previous hit NIU SILA, we're sure you'll be swept away by the story. WHERE WE ONCE BELONGED has the same innocent perspective brought to a chaotic rite of passage.

Celebrated artist Michel Tuffery and actor/director David Fane join Colin McColl and Tony Rabbit to portray Samoa, a society on the cusp of change, with breathtaking theatricality.