By VENESSA GISAO and JAYLINE AKENA SOALILI, UPNG Journalism Students
THE University of Papua New Guinea’s (UPNG) Ulli Beier Creative Arts Theatre was transformed into a stage reflecting Papua New Guinea’s colonial past this week as the Theatre Arts Department presented Leo Hannett’s classic post-colonial play, The Ungrateful Daughter.
Set in Bougainville during the 1960s copper mining boom, the play explores the conflict between traditional matrilineal land ownership and colonial exploitation. It portrays how family relationships and marriage can be manipulated for economic gain, reflecting wider tensions surrounding race, power, land and cultural identity.
The production, which ran from October 6 to 9, marked a major milestone for final-year Theatre Arts student Latifa Marie Kalamendi, whose staging of the play formed part of her major research project, a requirement for graduation.
Ms Kalamendi said directing involved guiding the cast in their performances while overseeing the artistic and technical aspects of the production.
“The director is someone who focuses on the cast and how they should act. We mostly deal with the artistic part of the stage towards the technical beat,” she said.
Beyond directing the actors and coordinating the technical elements, Ms Kalamendi took on the creative challenge of expanding the original adaptation to make it more engaging for contemporary audiences.
She said the existing script contained only four scenes, prompting her to write three additional scenes to develop the story further.
“I also look at the script. This play is an adaptation; it only has four scenes. The play is very short, but I decided to add three more new scenes to make it more interesting,” she said.
Second-year Theatre Arts student Irene Tauhen, who played the lead character, Ebonita Kane, said the role had taught her important lessons about women’s rights, freedom and standing up for one’s beliefs.
“What I learned is women have to stand up for what they are taught or their rights, their right to freedom,” Ms Tauhen said.
She said one of her biggest challenges was understanding and portraying a culture different from her own.
“The difficulty was trying to understand the culture. I’m not really from that place, so I was trying my best to bond with the character’s culture, to understand more, to portray it,” she said.
High school students who attended the matinee performance said they were inspired by the cast’s confidence, stage presence and ability to memorise and deliver their lines.
They also expressed interest in pursuing Theatre Arts in the future.
The production concluded under the theme, “Land, Love and Power: When Tradition Meets Exploitation, Resilience Becomes Resistance.”
Ms Kalamendi said the message remained relevant to contemporary struggles over land, identity and cultural rights in Papua New Guinea.