Niu Sila

Niu Sila

Play directed by Daniel Pengelly

Rating: A+

Niu Sila tells the story of two boys, Ioane Tafioka and Peter Baker, growing up in the same street in 1970s suburban Auckland. One fresh from the Islands, the other as white as they come, this story spans 40 years of friendship, cultural differences, and takes a closer look at the racism inherent in our kiwi society.

Written by Oscar Knightly and Dave Armstrong, this play has that classic kiwi comedy vibe. Telling the story through the eyes of two young boys as they grow up and take their stereotypical paths in life, there are plenty of classic dick jokes, kiwi slang and good old childhood throw backs to keep you entertained. 

However, below the light-hearted surface, Niu Sila is discussing something much more serious and harmful to our society. Casual and inherent racism is hard to escape in such a bi-cultural colonised society, and as young children, most of us probably don’t even know what we are thinking and saying, and definitely wouldn’t be thinking about the ways it has been ingrained in us since birth. 

The majority of the pakeha characters in the story look down on the Tafioka family because of their race. The children are held back in school because they are seen as simple and may hold the other (white) children back, and are generally shown disdain when they move in - as the pakehas are sure they will bring rape and murder to their pleasant white suburb. But through Peter’s eyes we see that they are a family of intelligent people, most of whom have been put into their stereotypical boxes because of the society and culture that tells them they are inferior. Also explored are the ways that colonised cultures regard each other in the hierarchy of white society, through the way Ioane views Maori despite how similar their cultures are in many respects.

Both actors play a small handful of characters each, and do a fantastic job keeping them all separate and making them recognisable for the audience. This was a well told story that had the whole crowd laughing for the entire hour and a half, and is one I would definitely recommend for lovers of kiwi comedy - this is truly a classic!

Niu Sila is running from April 30th till May 21st, and will then be touring Southland and Otago from May 24th till June 4th.

This article first appeared in Issue 11, 2016.
Posted 12:40pm Sunday 15th May 2016 by Gini Jory.