An extraordinary new play premiered in Apia during the last week. Sia Figiel’s O Tusitala, Tellers of Tales, opened at the Galumoana Theater, Vaivase Uta on Tuesday 30 May with a repeat performance on Wednesday 7 June 2023. This dynamic play uses Samoan song and dance, superbly performed by dancers from N.U.S. Dance and Theatre Company, to complement the stories told by the single actor – the eminent Tuiasau Uelese Petaia. 

The play is a re-telling of an important period of Samoan history. Through monologues, music and dance it tells the stories of the Samoans and other Pacific islanders who were part of Robert Louis Stevenson’s household at Villa Vailima in the 1880s and 1890s. It is probably the first account of this history from the points of view of Stevenson’s Samoan contemporaries – they, not Stevenson, are O Tusitala, the storytellers, of this play. Using customary Samoan storytelling forms such as faleaitu and solo, the play celebrates Samoan narrative and drama. 

O Tusitala is informed by four years of meticulous research by Sia Figiel into the lives and experiences of the Samoan characters: we hear from the real cooks, gardeners and household staff who knew Stevenson intimately during this turbulent period of Samoan history. We learn of their expectations about the world-famous Scottish writer: in a wonderful opening scene, played to comic perfection by Tuiasau Petaia, we see the bitter disappointment of the immaculately dressed, courteous Peni (later foreman at Villa Vailima) at the dishevelled appearance of the bare-footed Stevenson and his chain-smoking family when they arrive at the docks. We learn of the characters’ hopes, worries and rivalries, set against the political background of the civil war and rising colonial intervention in Samoa. The play acknowledges the exceptionally affectionate and mutually respectful relationships between the palagi writer and his Samoan contemporaries – relationships that were extremely unusual in the period. But it also acknowledges moments of cultural misunderstanding. In a chilling scene featuring the mesmerising Rosaivitilesaualofaoleola Solomona, leader of N.U.S.’s Dance Theater, we see Stevenson unwittingly causing deep offence to his Samoan contemporaries – an offence for which he makes (as he did in real life) a formal apology through the ifoga ceremony. 

Each monologue is told by a different character, with the monologues separated by Samoan and Western music, from a Chopin piano prelude to a Hawai’ian hula. There is also – as in much Samoan drama – lively banter between the singers, the dancers and the actor. At points, the singers pick up words from the monologue and harmonise them or even interrupt the speaker, offering cheeky comments or exhorting Tuiasau Petaia to hurry up with the story. The powerful and accomplished performances by N.U.S.’s dancers and musicians enrich the play, complementing the monologues and amplifying their emotions, whether of joy or sorrow. These elements also reflect the important role of music at Villa Vailima, where the household gathered to the sound of the conch for daily prayers and hymns and where there were numerous balls, parties and evenings of music-making around the piano. As we see, at the request of Lauli’i Willis Stevenson and his wife Fanny founded the Vine-ula club for afakasi ladies; dances were one of the highlights of their meetings. The play’s music also reflects the political context of the time: one Samoan song from the 1890s, for example, refers to the German Kaiser’s influence. And music also fosters personal relationships. As Sia Figiel shows us, the labourer Simi played the fagufagu to awaken Stevenson and Stevenson taught him how to play his own instrument, the flageolet (a cross between a recorder and a tin whistle). Again, this reflects the careful research behind the play: music often enabled Stevenson and the Pacific islanders he met to make personal connections, and he exchanged many songs and poems with Samoan, Hawai’ian and i-Kiribati contemporaries. But he also expressed in his fiction and non-fiction his concern at the rapid erosion of customary music across Oceania under the influence of Western contact. 

O Tusitala is an unprecedented exploration of this period of Samoan history and I found it a compelling work – an engrossing script, enriched by powerful music and dance. The play has also opened the purpose-built Galumoana Theater. The Galmoana Theater is intended to be a long-term community resource, fostering exciting creative work by Samoan artists and supporting young performers and community groups. Its aims are to encourage local and international collaborations and to promote conversation, diversity and unity through innovative creative collaborations. 

It has been an honour to collaborate with Sia Figiel and with colleagues at N.U.S.’s Faculty of Education and Centre for Samoan Studies. In 2015, Susau Solomona and her colleagues first generously shared their knowledge of customary Samoan music with me as I began research on the indigenous musicians with whom Stevenson made music in Oceania. Since then, the Scottish Funding Council and the University of St Andrews have provided financial support for the collaboration between N.U.S. and the University of St Andrews, leading to the commission of new creative work including O Tusitala. We acknowledge that support with thanks. Led by Susau Solomona and the N.U.S. team, the project team has also recorded cultural knowledge about the use and making of customary instruments from many Samoan elders - material that will be placed on a bi-lingual website for public use. The project has commissioned customary musical instruments for use in ceremony and teaching at N.U.S. and the team is creating educational resources on customary Samoan music for use at all levels from primary school to university. It is an honour and a pleasure to be able to celebrate O Tusitala, Tellers of Tales and this important landmark in our collaboration. Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on the work. Fa’afetai tele. 

• Emma Sutton is a Professor of English at the University of St Andrews, Scotland and an Associate at the Centre for Pacific Studies.