SURVIVE
24-28 June

Reviewed by Aroha Awarau, 19 June 2025 

Photos by Ralph Brown

 

Bold, heartfelt, and culturally grounded, Survive is a theatrical triumph bringing queer Māori and Pacific stories centre stage.

 

As the disco ball - a symbol of takatāpui fabulousness - slowly turns in the corner of the stage, scattering glimmers of light across the audience, so too do the three powerful solo performances by queer Māori and Pacific artists illuminate the trials and triumphs of their lives.

 

Appropriately titled Survive, this theatre work, directed by Jason Te Mete, comprises three 45-minute pieces by Vincent Farane, Nanu Turner-Sarah, and Adam Burrell. Opening this week at The Basement Theatre in Auckland as part of the newly formed HAU Festival, Survive sees each performer bravely pouring their heart and soul into raw, moving stories about growing up gay and trans in Aotearoa. In a time when our LGBTQIA2+ communities are being persecuted and shunned - both here and abroad (it's no surprise Brian Tamaki was referenced more than once) - Survive stands as an urgent and vital piece of theatre, ensuring our voices will never be silenced.

 

It is especially important for our takatāpui youth to see and hear the triumphs of those who have struggled before them - to know that, despite adversity, those who came before have survived. Hopefully, this theatre piece will become something like a Pride anthem, spreading the message that even in the face of life’s hardships, there is always hope. Whether it's found in the solace and joy of the family you choose, or in the resilience you build through your own journey of survival.

 

The first performance, Pray, written and performed by Vincent Farane, sets the night in a powerful cultural context. Dancing onto the stage draped in tapa cloth and performing a modern abstract Siva to a soundtrack blending traditional Samoan singing with distorted electronic tones, Farane’s entrance evokes a pre-missionary Samoa - uninhibited and free.

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With a quick costume change, Farane seamlessly transforms into Reverend John Williams, the British missionary who arrived in Samoa in 1830 and played a pivotal role in introducing Christianity to the Pacific Islands. Williams condemned many cultural practices he considered blasphemous, including premarital sex - and homosexuality. Fast-forward to the present day, and the piece takes a comedic twist as the Reverend reappears to introduce the next act — this time dancing enthusiastically to the disco classic Boogie Wonderland.

 

We then meet a Samoan mother and her long-haired, netball-playing, effeminate son. Both are struggling to reconcile his emerging identity with what the Bible says about him. Set on a Sunday - the day of both White Sunday and the annual Big Gay Out - the mother prays for the “poor gay people,” while the son feels conflicted between expressing himself and adhering to religious teachings. In the end, he draws strength from pre-colonial Samoan traditions, realizing that his ancestors always knew - his queerness existed long before he was born.

 

As a performer, Farane is undoubtedly a triple threat: a compelling actor, a master of accents, a skilled dancer in both traditional and contemporary forms, and a singing voice fit for the American Idol stage.

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Next, a complete change of pace and style: Lady Sing the OOO’s, performed by Nanu Turner-Sarah - or as she proudly introduced herself to the audience, Lady Nanu from Murupara!

 

With just a mic, a chair, and a spotlight on stage, the musical intro set the audience up for a grand, Shirley Bassey-style entrance - and Lady Nanu did not disappoint. A proud Māori trans woman, she treated the audience to a traditional Vegas-style cabaret performance over the next 45 minutes. Between her renditions of classics like Summertime and Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Lady Nanu shared stories from her life in a conversational, stand-up, cabaret-style delivery - like a true pro.

 

She chronicled her journey: being bullied growing up in Murupara, moving to Rotorua, and eventually finding her voice - and her men - through the local musical theatre scene. It was there, in community theatre, that she found her people and her stage, performing standout roles from Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray, to Miss Sophia in The Color Purple - a role made famous by Oprah Winfrey.

 

Lady Nanu proudly shared how she became the first trans performer in her community to win an acting award, breaking barriers and expectations. With her natural charisma and ability to command a crowd, it was clear the award was well deserved.

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The final performance, Escaping, written and performed by Adam Burrell, was a brave and emotional exposé of Adam’s own life growing up in Auckland as a petrolhead before finding his voice as the lip-sync assassin drag queen, Miss Adena Delights.

 

This deeply personal piece begins with young Adam in the 1980s, taking a break from playing with toy cars to try on drag for the first time - an act of joyful rebellion that helped him escape his father’s disapproval and find comfort in the arms of his loving and supportive mother. Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, Adam’s love of cars and bike riding began to shift as puberty sparked a sexual awakening and gradually drew him toward the persona of Adena Delights. It was through her that he discovered a passion for performance and drag.

 

Adam’s life journey explores the complexity of seeking love from men who could fully accept both Adam and Adena. And when he finally found that kind of love - heartbreakingly, it was cut short by his partner’s tragic passing. The trauma and grief pushed Adam deeper into himself, but it was in that inward space that he found his true strength. He came to understand and accept that escaping wasn’t weakness - it was survival. Becoming Adena helped Adam fully embrace and accept who he really is.

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There’s a reason Adam closed the show. A trained Toi Whakaari actor with extensive experience in both stage and screen (including a role as an undercover cop on Shortland Street), Adam brought the emotional weight and polish needed to anchor the entire production. As a queer tuakana (mentor), he provided the depth and gravitas to hold these powerful stories together - and bring them home.

 

The final act of Survive was Adena Delights, in full drag glory, showing why she’s one of New Zealand’s fiercest power ballad lip-syncers. She brought the house down with Patti LaBelle’s anthem Come As You Are — a fitting title and message that beautifully captured the spirit of the entire show. Adena/Adam’s heartfelt final stanza earned a well-deserved standing ovation.

 

Following last week’s performance of Tāne Rore, a play exploring the different facets of Māori masculinity, Survive closes the HAU Festival - a two-week event dedicated to amplifying diverse Indigenous and queer narratives. With the success of these two powerful works, we can only hope for the return of the HAU Festival in 2026.​

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