Masi

Counterpointing its pensive sadness for the dear departed with a palpable sense of the hope and vitality that merge to become the life force….. that force will be with you, once again, in seismic proportion, for some time after seeing this show, which is grounding and connective in a way social media and the inter web at large cannot and will never be. Life affirming. Maybe even life-changing. How often can you say that?
– Curtain Call, Sydney Festival 2013

Masi is a breathtaking work of visual theatre that interweaves the meaning of Fijian Masi (tapa cloth) with the remarkable meeting of Nawalowalos parents in 1950’s New Zealand.

Masi opens a doorway into family memories, unfolding a rich journey of discovery that explores loss, memory and the tracing of the lines that make us each who we are today.

“On my trips to visit family in Fiji I have been gifted Masi. They have hung on the walls of my home sitting among the variety of objects and images, key signifiers of my identity, my heritage and heart links to my family. In their paper thinness they have folded into boxes and trunks to travel with me yet when they unfold with them unfolds a greater story, a greater mystery.  One day looking at the patterns in the sunlight I recognised in the Masi a map back to my own cultural roots, which as a Fijian New Zealander I feel but are likewise mysterious to me. I felt that  if I traced the paths indicated by these fibres I might find my way back. To a time and place.”
– Nina Nawalowalo