On The Edge: The Boy From Vaiala by Victor Rodger

Part of Breaking Ground 2026

In this intimate session, we hold space for a live, raw reading of a vital new play in development. This is your invitation to sit beside the flame of creation before the ink is fully dry.

We welcome our community, arts audiences, and potential venue and festival partners to witness this latest work, and celebrate new Indigenous scriptwriting in development.

The Boy From Vaiala is the new work-in-development by award-winning playwright and producer Victor Rodger (Samoa (Iva), Scotland (Broughty Ferry)). Known for his bold and provocative works that delve into race, identity, and sexuality, Victor is a graduate of Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School.

Victor’s first play, Sons, premiered at The Court Theatre in Ōtautahi Christchurch. A revised version of Sons was subsequently produced by Taki Rua Productions, winning four Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards, including Most Outstanding New Writer and Most Outstanding New Zealand Play. Under his FCC banner, Victor has produced award winning productions of The Mountaintop by Katori Hall as well as Wild Dogs Under My Skirt and The Savage Coloniser Show by 2020 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Tusiata Avia.

The Boy From Vaiala will premiere at ASB Waterfront Theatre with Auckland Theatre Company in 2027.

Breaking Ground returns for another year of intensive Indigenous new writing. Our festival has created space for bold and brilliant new works in Te Whanganui-a-Tara since its inception in 2010. Artists are a vital part of our communities and the current landscape presents fewer and fewer opportunities for us to gather, to wānanga, and to create. The 2026 programme responds to the growing need to hold on to spaces where writers can thrive and where the iconic stories of tomorrow can be unearthed.

Breaking Ground is produced by Te Whanganui-a-Tara based creative company, Tawata Productions, and made possible by our partners Wellington City Council and Creative New Zealand.

4pm Sunday 22 November 2026

See Ticketing T&Cs.