ON GOD - Debut Season

Conflict in the afterlife spills onto Earth as Nafanua, the Samoan goddess of War and Jesus, son of God uproot the lives of an already fractured family in Aotearoa, New Zealand. As ideologies collide and faith gets tested, will the lives of everyone involved ever be the same again? 

Written by emerging multidisciplinary artist Kaisa Fa’atui, ON GOD is a show that sets to investigate pre and post colonial religion though the lens of a Samoan-New Zealander, and how faith plays out in today’s society. With rave reviews and a sold out development season last year, ON GOD is set to make its premiere at Te Auaha in Wellington, as part of an indigenous arts festival in late May 2025. 

So far, we’ve already got a pretty stacked team:

Writer, Director: Kaisa Fa’atui


Producer: Taylor-Rose Terekia


Marketing: Havea Latu of Vain Creative


Lighting Designer: Josiah Matagi

Dramaturgy and Mentorship: Dr Nicola Hyland

…and more to be announced at a later date. 

Making theatre is a lot of hard work that requires blood, sweat and tears to bring stories to life on stage. Hard work should be met with fair compensation for all the effort from people involved, which is why we are seeking funds to make it happen. We are very fortunate to already have secured a small share of funds thanks to Wellington City Council, but we’re here at Boosted in order to secure some additional funding - this is to help us bring on more people to join the team, pay all our artists fairer, cover costs of designing and constructing set and costume, and aid in our advertising efforts closer to help spread the word about our show!
 
Your donations will help with the following:

- Hire cast members and additional crew
- Increased payment for all artists involved
- Costs towards costume design and construction
- Costs towards set and props design and construction
- Costs towards advertising efforts as show season approaches

Tensions rise in the afterlife as Nafanua, the Samoan goddess of War and Jesus, son of God, aim to realign the world once again in their own ways. In a battle to determine who is the best god to rule them all, the two descend upon Earth and uproot the lives of an already fractured family in Wellington, Aotearoa. As ideologies collide, realms get crossed and faith gets tested, will the lives of everyone involved ever be the same again?

First appearing as a development show as part of the Six Degrees Festival in 2024, the premiere debut of ON GOD is a theatre performance that investigates Samoan religion through a modern, second-generation Pacific migrant lens. The show aims to take a dive into Samoan spirituality in both pre-colonial and modern contexts, from the transition of Christianity to Samoa over pre-colonial faith, to current generations in present day Aotearoa finding their connection to faith in a society becoming increasingly more secular.

This premiering show is filled with powerful narratives that will tug at the heart, ask some big questions and help you laugh the evening away. Anchored by the backdrop of modern day Wellington and a breadth of music genres, from deep hip-hop beats, orchestral scoring to folk music and idyllic soundscapes, this epic tale aims to posit the question: What is the fate of faith in our modern age? 

ON GOD was developed as part of my time as a student at Victoria University’s Master of Fine Arts course. During this time, I had many questions around faith, specifically around the clashes between my generation rediscovering our old gods and goddesses, and the current religious outlook based around Christianity and God. This was the final landing point I had set on - a show about Jesus and Nafanua attempting to help the world one person at a time whilst sorting out the very deep cuts inflicted against each other. 

Especially in a world in where dangerously devout people skip the words and go straight to violence (both inciting it and committing it), I see this show as an opportunity to not only help people have deeper conversations around a subject we usually avoid with family and friends, but to also remind ourselves about how we approach this world that we live in, and that there are may different faiths and ways of living that exist today - not just any one.

Does this sound like the kind of conversation you'd like to help bring to the masses? If you have any money to spare, we'd very much appreciate any donation you'd like to give us.

Fa'afetai lava, 

ON GOD aiga x