The Sons of Vao is a play by Vela Manusaute based on his own lived experience growing up on the island of Niue. The story which covers 34 years begins in 1970 with the birth of the eldest son To (Haanz Fa’avae-Jackson). His mother is only 15 at the time and over the next two years she has two more sons, Seki (Epine Bob Savea) and Sau (Brett Taefu).
The boys father is Vao (Beulah Koale), a Samoan man who moved to Niue and settled in a small village. He is aggressive, dominant, boastful, and often cruel. His boys and wife are completely under his control and he is often violent towards them all. His mantra that is inculcated into them is ‘no tears, no weakness.’ Showing distress after a severe beating is enough to elicit yet more violence from a man who believes that any emotion is a betrayal of manhood.
The family live in a ramshackle house, but the boys are typical kids, full of adventurous spirit and addicted to watching American movies which bring them happiness and the opportunity to dream of a different life.
When their father relocates to New Zealand in 1978 the boys feel free for the first time in their lives, but this euphoria is short-lived as they and their mother are summoned a year later and move in with their paternal grandmother and aunt in Auckland.
The boys culture shock is palpable, from their first jet flight, to seeing television and American soap operas, and encountering sunlight soap. It all seems delightful and yet overwhelming. They are still poor, and that has an impact on them particularly at school amongst their white and wealthier fellow pupils.
The story continues through to the boys reaching maturity and starting to live their own lives. The question is clearly asked – what impact will their father’s cruelty have on them and any future generations?
It’s a complex question and for each of the boys the answer is a little different. For To, it comes in the form of questioning the values and even the religion he was brought up in. More than once he plaintively asks ‘Why did Jesus not help us?’ He also says that he and his brothers never knew love. It is a common enough complaint in any family anywhere around the world coping with domestic violence.
The play offers up a solution and that perhaps, true salvation comes about by letting love in and breaking the cycle of violence that harms generation after generation. But, is that possible for To, Seki, and Sau who have been so beaten down by their father? Well you’ll just have to buy a ticket to the play to find out.
If you do, what you will witness on a simple but striking set are four actors who perform impeccably well. Koale’s depiction of Vao is magnificent in portraying a man so broken and beyond redemption it is easy to loathe him. Fa’avae-Jackson is the perfect narrator and brings a compelling emotional depth to the role of To. Savea and Taefu are equally strong and manage to convey a familial likeness while delivering their characters own individuality. All three of the ‘boy’s’ engage with each other beautifully and have a wonderful ability to morph from idealistic and energetic young boys to older and wiser young men.
The Sons of Vao is a stunning piece of theatre that bravely tackles violence in our communities with deep honesty yet also shows us something deeper, the resilience of the human spirit.
Photo credit – Andi Crown
THE SONS OF. VAO
20 June – 5 July 2026
ASB Waterfront Theatre – Auckland