Black Friars present: Being Big

Being Big follows the journey of four young Polynesian men who have now left school and are on their own personal quests for identity. It is about the choices that young people make, it is about being Polynesian and trying to find your place in the world, but mainly it is about friendship and those who make life's journey at your side, coloured with the inherent beauty that is our pacific people. With music, dance and laughter these young men celebrate who they are and where they come from.

The Black Friars are a group of first-generation New Zealand born Pacific Islanders striving in their own personal quests for identity. They achieved awards in 2007 for the ‘Best Festival Newcomers’ in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival and gained honourable mention in North and South Magazine’s ‘New Zealander of the Year’. In February they undertook a world first production of William Shakespeare’s Othello – Polynesia partly in order to defy stereotypes and make statements about Race and its connection to Identity.

“Being Big” is the sequel to 2007’s “Being Brown”. It follows the hilarious journey of four young friends faced with the challenge of moving from adolescence to manhood in the chaotic world of south Auckland. The story is important to the company the Black Friars because it is the continuation of our own journey and our own quests for identity. We believe that polynesian people are an amazingly talented and often undervalued assett to the population of New Zealand. We are sick of continous stereo-types, and worse - of our young people attempting to live up to those stereotypes.

We intend to present an island humour that has all of the laughter, music, drama and brown beauty that is our Polynesia, but intermingled with a serious message about choices and being true to yourself, no matter what it costs you.

Event listed by blackfriarscompany

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