Sei 'O Fafine
Q Favourite Tongan word?
Ta kiai - It's slang you say when you do a high five. Ta means ''slap'' and kiai ''to that''.
Q Does the Tongan language feature in Sei 'O Fafine?
Yes, but there's more English.
Q Can you follow it if you don't understand Tongan?
Yeah definitely. You can tell if the mother is angry. It's on tone and body language.
Q Who is your character?
I play the eldest sister, Nai.
Q A lead role?
The middle child is the main lead and the story revolves around her. My character helps the mother to connect with the girl because after the father in the story passes away, it is a bit of a shambles for the family.
Q Are you the oldest in your real family?
No, in my family I am the youngest but some of my qualities suit Nai.
Q Do you think being a middle child can be difficult?
I have found it difficult being the youngest of three. We have lived separate lives until recently because my own mother passed away four months ago. That has been a huge thing in our lives to bring us back together.
Q Is there humour in the piece?
A couple of the characters are quite comedic, especially the mother. It's quite a heavy story so the humour is good for the audience.
Q Have you been to Dunedin before?
Yeah, I did a Samoan show in Dunedin in 2012 and a few cast members in Sei 'O Fafine were in that show.
Q You played a Samoan?
I've played a lot of Samoan characters. There haven't been a lot of Tongan works out there.
Q Why?
I think it's part of the Tongan culture to keep things to ourselves and not make things public, but I think our Samoan brothers and sisters have really opened the door for us Tongans. More Pacific Islanders are getting work. Slowly it's changing.
Q Favourite actors?
Daniel Day Lewis and the actors in shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.
Q Is being creative a blessing or a curse?
A blessing; the only negative thing is the length of time it takes to develop an idea - the seed - to a full piece performance. But you know, good things take time.
Q How many in the cast?
Six actors and three singers - all female.
Q What has it been like working together?
It's been awesome - hilarious. It's a great bunch of women, there is so much support and so much chemistry between us.
• Sei 'O Fafine will be performed at Kavanagh Auditorium at 8pm tonight and 8pm tomorrow.
