Andrew Kuliniasi

“Meisoga”, will tell the legendary tale of the Meisoga clan’s matriarch, Sine Kepu, and how she led her people to find safety, food security and water on a new island in Milne Bay.

The play, which deals with cultural taboos, interfamilial marriage, witchcraft, and inter-tribal bloodshed, is written and directed by Andrew Kuliniasi, a sixteen-year old student who has already been involved in a number of productions staged by the Moresby Arts Theatre.

In the interview below, Andrew discusses the play, the importance of theatre in PNG culture and his own cultural background.

16 year old Andrew Kuliniasi asks this question with the concern that in this era, many cannot trace back their historical roots.

“I feel that it is important as a young Papua New Guinean to understand my culture, or history. So many now don’t have a sense of where they come from, but of where they are now.

“If we lose our cultural identity, there won’t be anything special to say I’m Papua New Guinean,” he says.

Breaking this trend, Kuliniasi is capturing the story of his clan – Meisoga from the Milne Bay province, in the newest play for Moresby Arts Theatre.