Teenage Pacific Transgender featured in The Talano Series

Teenage Pacific Transgender character featured in The Talanoa Series

'Inky Pinky Ponky' by ‘Amanaki Prescott-Faletau and Leki Jackson-Bourke is being published in an anthology by Little Island Press Ltd, supported by Auckland Council.

Little Island Press will be running an interactive Talanoa programme at the Māngere Town Centre Library on Thursday 22nd of June from 6pm to 7pm. The programme will feature 'Inky Pinky Ponky' and will include a live performance of a scene from the play. Playwrights ‘Amanaki Prescott-Faletau and Leki Jackson-Bourke will both be attending the workshop.

The Talanoa Series is a collection of plays by five talented Pacific playwrights, offering a refreshing perspective to the theatre community. Prescott-Faletau is a dancer at heart and has been a judge at the New Zealand Hip Hop Nationals, managed choreography for the Auckland Theatre company, was awarded the Best Newcomer at the 2014 Auckland Theatre awards and is a key member of FINE FATALE - a transgender and gay dance company. Jackson-Bourke is an emerging Pasifika artist who has toured nationally and internationally with New Zealand theatre companies including: Massive Theatre Company, Kila Kokonut Krew and Armstrong Creative. They are both proud graduates from the Pacific Institute of Performing Arts.

'Inky Pinky Ponky' focuses on St Valentines High, where the arrival of the fabulous fakaleiti (transgender) Lisa causes a stir. She falls in love with the most popular boy in school but soon realises there is a 'hater' in her midst. Both authors chose to cowrite a play with a gender identity storyline because they felt there were not enough 'fakaleiti' stories written for Pacific audiences. The characters are inspired by real people. Both authors are familiar with the transgender community and wanted to be pioneers of their own urban pacific story.

Prescott-Faletau says "I want my audience to have a better understanding of our world... Knowing our work will be published is scary, exciting and daunting. Her cowriter Jackson-Bourke explains, "We wrote this so that the audience is aware that these kinds of characters actually exist. This was an opportunity for people from the outside of this community to see our world from an insider's perspective. The main challenge we faced was bringing justice to the characters on stage, being authentic and telling our story truthfully.”

Talanoa: Four Pacific Plays launched on Thursday 8 June 2017 and is available for purchase at all good book shops.

Buy the book

Talanoa: Four Pacific Plays

RRP $35

9781887484346

http://littleisland.co.nz/books/talanoa-four-pacific-plays About Little Island Press Little Island Press is a community focused social enterprise based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its two directors Evotia Tamua and Tony Murrow are passionate about books and connecting communities.

For more information, please contact:

Evotia Tamua

Little Island Press Ltd

Phone: 027 477 2594

Email: evotia@littleisland.co.nz

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