The cast of the Music Portrait of a Humble, Disabled Samoan sung a waiata to the crowd after the premiere. Photo credit: RNZ Pacific/Tiana Haxton.
Source: RNZ Pacific
There were tears and cheers as the crowd stood, awarding a standing ovation to the cast of the Music Portrait of a Humble, Disabled Samoan.
Starring Fonotī Pati Umaga, the show tells his life story.
From humble beginnings in a family band, to topping New Zealand music charts with the Holidaymakers, till a fall changed his life, leaving him confined to a wheelchair, battling depression and addiction.
Umaga rose above his “dark times” and became a leader in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities.
Upon leaving the theatre, the audience expressed how touched they were by the show.
“Just absolutely in awe of the people he acknowledged and the way that he’s told the story through music and movement and, yeah, just a super powerful show. And we love Pati and just super proud of him,” Kim Morton said.
“But it had so much heart, it is so emotional, the type of ride of his life story, the ups and downs.
“You’re gonna go on that ride too. It’s powerful,” Tanemahuta Gray said.
“The story is so open to telling us about a very personal experience in a way that was wonderfully entertaining and powerfully moving.
“So my friends and I have come out being incredibly moved by it and talking about the impact of it and what it means for us and how we have learned so much from it,” Australian Karilyn Brown added.
Sitting front row was Rachel Tamapolu who said she was deeply moved by the show.
Her sister Tessa was highlighted in Umaga’s story as the heroine who helped him find new purpose after his accident.
Tessa was a former “street kid” Umaga helped in his days as a youth worker, never expecting she would one day be the one to pull him out of his own battle with depression and addiction.
Rachel said the show attributed her memory with honor.
“It was absolutely beautiful, I’m very proud of Pati, and he spoke about my sister tonight who was his best friend Tessa so I was very emotional…He’s honoured her legacy so beautifully so It was hard for me to not just weep.”
The Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan sparked conversations on making theatre more accessible to the less-able-bodied.
Not only the performance feature three wheel-chair users, including Umaga, a sign language interpreter was embedded into the show.
An audio-described session is also available.
Audience member Gray said the accessibility to the show echoed Umaga’s advocacy for the disabled community.
“It was the kaupapa of Pati you know, you can see that all through his whole journey is that and making sure that space is there for all.
“I mean, just watching the sign language performer was so phenomenal so that was a show in itself. It was amazing.”
Brown said the show has shone a light on how theatre should and could be made accessible to all.
“I think that’s one of the most amazing things about this work, was it actually amplified how important and actually how easy it is to have embedded components of accessibility in the work itself.”
Addressing the crowd gathered in the theatre lobby after the show, Umaga said their reactions deeply moved him.
He said he never thought he would one day be on stage sharing his personal life story.
“I cant quite fathom it so please forgive me if I feel a bit distance from everything at the moment, because if I don’t keep myself at that length, I’m not going to hold myself together.”
He said it was very important to him that the needs and concerns of people with disabilities were taken into account at every level of production.
He hopes this will invoke change to accessibility worldwide.
“I’m hoping that what we learned about how disabled related needs are met can be carried to the next production.
“I’m already freaking out because I’m getting people from Switzerland, Germany, Australia, they’re all coming around and saying, ‘What a powerful story’. And I’m saying, ‘oh my gosh, thank you. That really does mean a lot’.”
With the Auckland showing of the Music Portrait of a Humble Disabled Samoan complete, the cast head to Wellington for the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts from March 12-14.