Sons back on home turf

Charlie Paora cast members (from left) Liston Rua, Max Palamo, Kiri Lightfoot, Wesley Dowdell and Jason Webb have played to full houses.

Nearly four years after its first sellout season, The Sons of Charlie Paora is heading home.

Inspired by the life stories of its predominantly South Auckland cast, Charlie Paora was written by English actor-writer Lennie James, who spent a month in New Zealand at the request of Massive Company director Sam Scott.

It's set in a Mangere garage and the script is full of references to South Auckland. The idea was always to perform "south-side", but getting there has been a roundabout journey.

After two sellout Auckland seasons and an airing at the Taranaki Arts Festival, James' connections led to the Massive Company being offered a stint at London's Royal Court Theatre.

It wasn't an opportunity to be passed up, so the cast headed to the Northern Hemisphere with their story of five young men who gather to mourn their rugby coach, friend and mentor Charlie Paora. The wake is disrupted when Charlie's son and daughter arrive, bringing very different memories of their father.

Proving just how transferable good stories are, Charlie Paora sold out in London and received largely positive reviews.

"I think we sold out in London because there are so many New Zealanders over there, but we didn't know how many of them were Maori and Pacific Islanders till the lights went up and there were all these brown faces in the audiences," says Joe Folau jun, who plays Albie.

"We knew there must be a few people from South Auckland, because there's a joke in the play about the Mangere sewage ponds - and lots of people laughed," says Jason Webb, who plays promising rugby player Jackson.

Home and refreshed after a break of several months, the first national tour of The Sons of Charlie Paora includes that long-awaited South Auckland stopover.

The anticipation of performing in their home town in the 700-seat Pacific Events Centre is in some respects even greater for the cast of seven than it was for the Royal Court first night.

"It's pretty cool because it will be the first time in South Auckland and the biggest venue we have ever performed in," says Kiri Lightfoot, the cast's only woman.

Lightfoot says that when she was young it was with some reluctance that she went to the theatre with her parents because she didn't see the plays as relevant to young New Zealanders. That is one reason why the cast believes Charlie Paora has been so well received.

"Every time we perform, we find something else new in the story," Folau says. "We're all getting older so I suppose we see different things in the story.

"Our friends and family have all seen it but they'll be there for the South Auckland performances, and we want them to see it again because it develops further every time we perform."

The performances will have added poignancy as they are dedicated to cast member Famai Taito-Tusa's father and brother, who died recently.

* The Sons of Charlie Paora is at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, Manukau City August 18-20; Academy Telecom Playhouse, Aug 25-27