Moresby Arts Theatre (MAT)

Meanwhile, audiences will be getting skills training in killing would-be zombies.

The invasion starts on Thursday June 1 at 7:30pm when two 1-act plays are performed by the Moresby Arts Theatre (MAT). The two plays, ‘When the Buai Falls’ and ‘Zombie Attack’ are short comedies guaranteed to get audiences laughing.

“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.

Today’s show will feature arts, culture and politics in PNG and three films will be shown starting at 6pm. A panel discussion will follow to discuss refugees after the filming.

The Papua New Guinea Human Rights Film Festival (PNG HRFF) promotes greater respect, protection and fulfillment of human rights for all. It creates a forum for debate to empower the audience with the understanding that personal commitment can make a difference to end discrimination.

The play will feature mischievous imps and elves, jealous fairy kings and envious fairy queens, star-crossed lovers, dukes and duchesses, magic spells, sleeping potions, enchanted forests, and a troupe of country bumpkin minstrels.

Performed by the Moresby Arts Theatre (MAT), A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a family show. It will enthral the little ones with its magical spirits, enrapture the romantically inclined with its tale of confused but happy love, and draw guffaws of laughter from everyone with its band of misfit yokel actors. 

In a statement, the theatre says increased public awareness of the PRIDE program has resulted in more students arriving at MAT to learn about community issues like cancer, domestic violence and the opening theme for week two, cyber-bullying.

Armed with this new knowledge about their communities, students are guided by trained theater professionals from Goroko University in how to turn this information into catchy messages and lively theatre pieces that will inform the general public about these important social issues.