Wild Dogs Under My Skirt

By Tusiata Avia
Directed by Anapela Polata’ivao

One of New Zealand’s most successful theatrical exports makes its way to Wollongong after touring across New Zealand, performing off- Broadway in New York, and snapping up awards since 2016. This outstanding production breathes fierce life into poetry, womanhood and the unsettling challenge to tradition and conformity.

Adapted from Tusiata Avia’s poetry collection, Wild Dogs Under My Skirt is a provocative examination and celebration of the lives of Samoan women. Anapela Polata’ivao’s commanding direction introduces nuance, power and dramatic sophistication into Avia’s deeply personal view of Pacific Island life and its sometimes-uneasy collisions with New Zealand.

In the wake of this unending colonial earthquake, five Samoan characters make their lives between two cultures: playing, gossiping, enduring, enforcing the patriarchal status quo and carving out powerful new identities. Wild Dogs Under My Skirt is vivid, passionate, and compelling.