Songs from the ground-breaking Pasifika musical “The Factory” showcased at the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival last month.
The musical was written in 2011 by the Kila Kokonut Krew theatre company led by Vela Manusate and Anapela Polataivao and it was set in a garment factory in South Auckland, circa 1974.
Like a Shakespearean drama, The factory had it all, a love story, a family fighting for survival and a tragedy, all embellished with the Samoan language, humour.
And it’s these themes that continue to resonate with a new generation of singers.
“The lyrics, you can’t help but feel a little bit emotional because it’s not just a song that we sing now,” says actor Anasetasia Mackay who took on the role of Losa.
“And I think returning back home and singing these types of songs, it’s very spiritual.”
Slipping back into character was one of the original cast members, actor and singer Paul Fagamalo who played the loud and vibrant fa’afafine, Misilei.
“Back to the factory floors. It’s been over ten years since Edinburgh where we’d gone overseas,” Fagamalo says.
“It’s kind of like, you’re wearing your favorite pair of jeans like, you know, when it’s something that you really love and you know that it will fit, and it will look good. That’s what it feels like.”
Newcomer to the line up Haanz Fa’avae-Jackson played the headstrong and passionate character Mose.
“Mose is like the kind of a ‘fight for your rights’, he fights for the people and the song is called, ‘how come’,” Says Fa’avae-Jackson
“So, it’s based around, how come we live in these situations? How come we had to come here and fight for what’s right? You know, we came here for a dream and the dream seems so far-fetched.”
It’s been almost 15 years since the musical first hit the stage. Director of the show, Anapela Polataivao says this story is more relatable today more than ever
“Anything to do with Pacific stories it’s relevant. Anything to do with the Pacific people brings it into the fore, brings it into the present,” she says.
“It’s relevant, you know. And also, there are kids that don’t know of this story, there are generations that are coming through that will not be told our stories.”
Over the last 15 years, what started off as a theatre musical, has also become a web series as well as performances around the globe and in Aotearoa.
Even though the recent cabaret show was for one night only, Fagamalo hints that there could be another chapter to this story.
“I think this isn’t the last you’ll see of The Factory, this is a story that absolutely resonates no matter what generation you’re from,” she says.
“I feel that there will always be a version of the factory in people’s minds and that this iteration is a kind of stepping stone back into the world of The Factory.”
