A New Universe Of Whānaungatanga Takes The Stage With ‘Siblings'

Scoop

5 days ago

Directed by acclaimed artists Pelenakeke Brown and Barnie Duncan, SIBLINGS brings together four Mori and Pacific disabled performers in a devised, disability-led production that is as theatrically adventurous as it is emotionally resonant.
Which one are you? The tutu, the peacemaker… or the odd one out? SIBLINGS is a bold, genre-defying new theatre work exploring the messy, funny, profound world of siblinghood – a story as old as time but told in an entirely new way. This world premiere plays for a limited 5-performance season at Te Pou Theatre from 24-28 July.
Directed by acclaimed artists Pelenakeke Brown and Barnie Duncan, SIBLINGS brings together four Māori and Pacific disabled performers in a devised, disability-led production that is as theatrically adventurous as it is emotionally resonant. The work has evolved over three years of creative development – grounded in talanoa and play – and is now ready to meet its audience.
If you've ever had a brother or sister, or wished you had, you'll understand the peculiar and complex relationship that exists within this universe of 'sibling'. When a member of that unit is a person with a disability, this universe becomes even more nuanced. Studies have shown that siblings of people with disabilities have been found to have warmth, heightened empathy, increased altruism, and a larger sense of responsibility. But what is it like for the sibling with the disability?
SIBLINGS is a work of fragments and sensation. Moments are woven together through live performance, visual design, movement and sound – inviting audiences into a unique theatrical language that reflects the lived experience of its cast. It's a show about siblings, yes – but also about agency, care, roles we inherit (or reject), and the cosmic forces that bind us together… or pull us apart. It's a show for anyone drawn to bold, form-breaking performance and the future of Aotearoa theatre led by disabled artists.
Directed by Brown and Associate Director Duncan, the work resists tidy narrative. As Brown says, 'the process informs the form of the show and we are always creating with accessibility as our creative prompt.' The result is a constellation of shared truths, made not to explain or simplify disability, but to honour its full spectrum – in the context of family, of whakapapa, and of performance itself.
SIBLINGS stars Roka Bunyan, Dazz Whippey (Ngāti Tūwharetoa), Kiriana Sheree (Ngāpuhi, Tuhoe and Ngāti Porou) and Jordan Kareroa (Ararangi) — four artists who have journeyed together through every phase of this work's creation.
Pelenakeke Brown (Gataivai, Siutu-Salailua) is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist whose work intersects disability theory with Sāmoan cultural concepts. Working between Aotearoa and New York, her work has been presented at institutions such as The New York Public Library for Performing Arts and Gibney Dance. She most recently received a 2024 Wynn Newhouse Award.
Barnie Duncan is a celebrated actor, comedian, director and writer who has been working in the performing arts for the last twenty-five years in both Australia and New Zealand. His award-winning shows have taken out the 2024 Fred Award at the NZ International Comedy Festival and Best Comedy at the Adelaide Fringe. Barnie's show Ollie Is A Martian (2014), performed by his nephew Oliver Cox, dealing with Oliver's experience in 'special needs' classes was included in the Pantograph Punch's Top Ten Plays of 2014, and triggered Barnie's interest in working with creators with disabilities.
SIBLINGS warmly invites all audiences to experience a theatrical work created from a place of authenticity, invention and deep whānaungatanga. Performances are proudly accessible, with New Zealand Sign Language interpretation and embedded audio description available.
After years of dreaming, devising, laughing, questioning, and growing, SIBLINGS is finally ready to be shared.