GET READY RARO
Laughing Samoans to debut New show here at Edgewater
By Feona Mo’ardi Good
Crowd-pleasing comedy actors the Laughing Samoans are heading for Rarotonga again – but with a new offering of fun and entertainment.
The team which brought hits like “A Small Samoan Wedding” and “Old School” to sell-out audiences perform their new “Off Work” programme here.
Cook Islanders will be amongst the first to see this.
The Laughing Samoans - Eteuati Ete and Tofiga Fepulea’i - feature it at a dinner and show at the Edgewater Resort in Arorangi this Friday the 15th of December. It is a joint promotion by the resort and the Samoan community.
Tickets are selling fast.
Edgewater sales and marketing manager Emile Kairua and Navy Epati, the president of the Samoan Community, encourage you to book now for the show and dinner so you don’t miss out.
The first professional show Ete and Tofiga performed together was called “Laughing with Samoans”. This premiered in February 2003 at the New Zealand Fringe Festival at the Illott Chamber of the Wellington Town Hall, New Zealand.
“Laughing with Samoans” was an instant hit, selling out in Wellington, Auckland and a return season in Wellington.
In October 2004, the Laughing Samoans premiered their first real show as a duo called “A Small Samoan Wedding”. This was another hit with sell out shows throughout New Zealand, the Big Laugh Festival in Sydney, Australia, the 5,000-seater fMf Dome in Suva, Fiji, and the 2,000 seater National Auditorium in Rarotonga.
They also toured Hawai’i and the United States.
Epati said the Cook Islands Samoan Community asked Tofiga and Ete if they could help out with a fundraiser to build a new Samoan Fale here.
The Laughing Samoans were more than happy to return to the Cook Islands with their new show donating some of the proceeds to the Samoan Community.
Epati spoke about how Samoan family ties are very big in the Cook Islands. The Samoan group often meet together supporting sports activities and other events that happen on the Island.
He said, “It’s a great time to have this show because everyone is looking forward to Christmas and the holidays.”
There are three major events showcasing the Laughing Samoans new show.
The first show will be in Aitutaki on the 14th December, then the comedians return to Rarotonga and showcase at the Edgewater on the 15th and then at the National Auditorium in Avarua on Saturday the 16th December.
Background on the Laughing Samoans, from listing on their website:
Eteuati Ete
Eteuati Ete was born in Samoa and was 12 years old when his family migrated to New Zealand where his parents were called to serve as ministers of the Samoan Congregational Christian Church (EFKS) in Newtown, Wellington.
He was one of the first Pacific Islanders to attend the New Zealand Drama School (1983/84) and was a founding member of New Zealand’s first Pacific Island theatre group formed in 1981 called Taotahi.
Taotahi staged the first full length Pacific Island play ever performed in New Zealand called “Le Matau” (1984) in which Ete played the lead role for which he was named by The Dominion’s theatre critics as the most promising male performer of the year.
He wrote and performed the first solo show by a Pacific Islander in New Zealand (The Depot, 1987) called The Johnny Smith Myth and has extensive stage, film, television and radio experience.
Tofiga Fepulea’i
Tofiga was born in Wellington and educated at Rongotai College, where other notable personalities such as Ma’a Nonu and Roy Kinikinilau also attended. A fierce and talented rugby player, Tofiga hung up his boots to concentrate on his many other talents (as well as the fact that running around for 80 minutes on a rugby field had lost its appeal).
A member of the EFKS Church, this contributed to enhancing the talents of Tofiga from leading the church choir, appearing on screen (Tagata Pasefika, music videos, TV ads), working with youth at risk, and taking on entertainment full-time.
For many years he has entertained family and church members but now he is taking his comedy to the world.
Tofiga’s passion is working and inspiring young Pacific people, as a young man who had to overcome his own barriers to achieve his dream.
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