The Western Line

The Western Line is a new play in development by Saitu Studios, in collaboration with the Tagata Moana Writers Hub.

Curated by Satiu Studios & the Tagata Moana Writers Hub, audiences and community are welcomed to join a kava circle with Pasifika artists and performers as they share snippets, songs and stories as part of the creative development process for this new major work.

The Western Line is one part of a trilogy series (alongside The M4 and The T80) inviting audiences onto a journey which draws from an eclectic array of personal stories as they navigate the different intersections of what it means to be a Pacific island person living in Australia.

Each play explores a different Pacific nation and interrogates the many ways tagata Moana (people from the Pacific) travelled across the ocean as wayfinders, seafarers, and voyagers where they must look deep into their past to seek their future on new land.

All tickets $15 (plus booking fee)
One Night Only
BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL

Presented as part of National Theatre of Parramatta’s True West program.
True West is NTofP’s capacity building program that supports and shines a light on the fresh and vibrant voices of Western Sydney artists from creation to skills development and production. Based in the geographic heart of Sydney, we are amplifying these voices and adding their stories to our cultural landscape.

Host and MC: Fale Tumanu

Fale is a poet and narrative storyteller of Sāmoan descent. She has performed, featured, and headlined at many different events across Sydney – most recently at the NSW Council for Pacific Communities Awards. Her passion for writing poetry goes deep into acknowledging the stories of her cultural identity and has become her passion to carry on these stories for the next generation to hear. Fale was featured in Where I’m From by award-winning theatremaker, Gabriel Faatau’uu-Satiu and is developing her a poetry-theatre show with Shopfront Arts Co-Op as part of their Artslab initiative.

Fale will open the space with a spoken word poem of her own.

Fale says, “I love writing because it allows me to tell my cultural stories that are unheard of or lack representation. I also love writing because it lets me magnify the voices of those who can resonate with my experiences.”

Performer #1 – Miriama Salavyova

Miriama Salavyova is a poet, songwriter, and aspiring novelist of Fijian heritage. Miriama’s writing draws inspiration from her lived experience of having lost her mother. She primarily writes for people who have experienced the loss of any loved ones, but particularly about the loss of a mother.

She’ll be sharing the first two chapters of her new novel – ‘Private Apocalyse’ – Oblivion and The Beginning of the End – a work that is being developed with the Tagata Moana Writers Hub and co-led by Gabriel Faatau’uu-Satiu.

Miriama says “I love to write because I love to capture, distill, and translate the depth and complexity of emotions into words, melody, and cadence”.

Performer #2 – Gari Guru

Gari Guru is a music artist and songwriter who hails from Papua New Guinea (Tubusereia) central province. He played the supporting lead role of Edea in Sydney Fringe’s ‘Where I’m From’, a young Papua New Guinean from Motu who suffers from anxiety and communicates through singsong and guitar.

Gari’s music is available on Spotify and most music platforms. For this event, he will be performing 2 new acoustic songs.

Gari says, “Writing started as a form of expression, just so I could communicate feelings that I struggled to deal with and get out.”

Performer #3 – Janice Fereti

Faith and family are what inspire Janice Fia’avae Fereti to write. She is a storyteller proudly of Sāmoan heritage. Spoken word poetry is her main form of expression, however, she dabbles in songwriting and has released two Christian children’s books.

For her performance, Janice will be sharing her childhood story and the journey of migrating from Aotearoa/New Zealand to Australia through 2 different poems.

Janice says, “I love writing as it gives the means to share the gospel and life experiences that may impact and connect with others”